Tilburg University Web communities, immigration

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Tilburg University
Web communities, immigration, and social capital
Mari, J.
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2014
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Web Communities,
Immigration, and Social Capital
PROEFSCHRIFT
ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor
aan Tilburg University
op gezag van de rector magnificus,
prof. dr. Ph. Eijlander,
in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van een
door het college voor promoties aangewezen commissie
in de Ruth First zaal van de Universiteit
op dinsdag 18 november 2014 om 10.15 uur
door
Jasmina Marić
geboren op 24 augustus 1968 te Belgrado, Joegoslavië
Promotor:
Prof. dr. H.J. van den Herik
Co-promotores:
Dr. R. Cozijn
Dr. M. Spotti
Promotiecommissie
Prof.dr. A.P.J. van den Bosch
Prof.dr. J.G. Lambooy
Prof.dr. A. Plaat
Prof.dr. E.O. Postma
Prof.dr. M. van Reisen
SIKS Dissertation Series No. 2014-39
The research reported in this thesis has been carried out under the auspices of SIKS, the
Dutch Research School for Information and Knowledge Systems.
TiCC Ph.D. Series No. 36
ISBN 978-91-628-9193-0
Copyright © 2014 by Jasmina Marić
Cover design by Tatjana Koraksić
Printed by Kompendiet
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronically,
mechanically, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission
of the author.
ii
To David
iii
iv
Preface
Europe is in the midst of an immigration crisis. Anti-immigrant rhetoric is
being heard from mainstream politicians. While xenophobic parties are on the
rise, immigrants face an increasing marginalisation in all aspects of everyday
life. Europe, whose history has been shaped by migration, is today a highly
polarised society, and Europeans are mistrustful and nervous about new and
recent immigrants. The way Europe will handle the challenges of immigration
will, in greater part, determine the future of the European Union.
Europe needs the immediate development of creative approaches that can
help in the restoration of a dialogue between Europeans and recent
immigrants. If trust is not recovered, Europe‟s existential crisis, fuelled by the
global economic crisis, can end up creating tragic consequences.
I personally, have had the rare opportunity to be an immigrant in different
parts of Europe (South and North), and to experience immigrant lifestyles in
different eras ‒ without the web and with the web. The difference between
these two immigrant experiences, a difference imposed by the existence of
the web, was immense. After I realised that web communication
fundamentally changed my experience of being an immigrant I engaged in
scientific research in the field of web communication and immigration. My
goal is to prove scientifically that the web is a new tool that can help in
bridging the gap between immigrants and their host societies.
The aim of this thesis is to argue that the web is the medium in which
the dialogue between native Europeans and immigrants is created. The web
not only changed how people communicate, it also changed with whom
people communicate. Web users are able to meet people online, even those
who they may never meet in person, and in a way that avoids social and
distance barriers. I believe that this simple fact is intuitively acknowledged as
the feature of web communities which actually provides immigrants with new
opportunities. Therefore I argue that web communities may be an appropriate
tool to meet some of the challenges faced by immigrants.
My principal motive in writing this thesis is to investigate scientifically the
validity and capacity of these ideas. By analysing the nature and the depth of
the web communication by immigrants, as well as the social processes that
this communication induce, in combination with the technology on which the
v
whole communication process rests, this thesis offers a scientific perspective
on the topic of bridging social capital on the web.
This thesis consists of six Chapters. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the
main concepts for my research ‒ the problem statement and three research
questions. Chapter 2 offers an overview of the literature on web communities,
immigration, and social capital. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 constitute the main body
of the research. Conclusions are provided in Chapter 6.
I wish to thank Joke Hellemons who kindly helped me many times with the
correspondence and administrative matters. I also wish to thank my three
thesis supervisors, Professor Jaap van den Herik, Dr. Rein Cozijn, and Dr.
Max Spotti, for their knowledge and support with which they encouraged me
to endure throughout the whole challenging process. I owe special gratitude
to Professor Jaap van den Herik who believed in my research idea and
accepted to teach me. He taught me more in the first four hours of our
meeting than I had learned in the three years of my research before I met
him. I am privileged for the opportunity to work with Professor Jaap van den
Herik.
My indebtedness to David Levy remains boundless for providing me with
necessary oxygen for the creation, duration and finalisation of this thesis.
Better yet, if everyone had a mentor like David this world would be a different
place. I am honoured to call David a friend.
Finally, my special gratitude and love goes to my family, Davor and Vigor, for
their patience and unfailing support.
Jasmina Marić
Gothenburg, June 2014
vi
Table of Contents
Preface ............................................................................................................ v
Table of Contents ...........................................................................................vii
List of Definitions ........................................................................................... xiii
List of Figures ................................................................................................ xv
List of Tables ................................................................................................ xvii
1 Introduction................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Immigration.......................................................................................... 2
1.2 Information technology ........................................................................ 3
1.3 Social capital ....................................................................................... 4
1.4 Historical changes and their development ........................................... 6
1.5 Main concepts ..................................................................................... 8
1.5.1 Immigrants‟ integration ................................................................ 8
1.5.2 Web communities...................................................................... 11
1.5.3 Six characteristics of the new web space .................................. 14
1.5.4 Social capital: building integration networks .............................. 15
1.6 Problem statement and three research questions ............................. 20
1.7 Research design and methodology ................................................... 23
1.7.1 Descriptive analysis .................................................................. 23
1.7.2 Good practice analysis .............................................................. 24
1.7.3 Interviews .................................................................................. 25
1.7.4 Scope of the research ............................................................... 26
1.8 Structure of the thesis ....................................................................... 27
2 The Internet in everyday life – online in offline.......................................... 29
2.1 The growth of Internet ....................................................................... 30
2.2 The transformation of social interaction ............................................. 32
2.3 The role of IT in social integration ..................................................... 34
2.4 Is a web community a social network? .............................................. 36
2.4.1 Resonance ................................................................................ 37
2.4.2 Density ...................................................................................... 38
2.4.3 Boundedness ............................................................................ 38
2.4.4 Range ....................................................................................... 38
2.4.5 Exclusivity ................................................................................. 39
2.4.6 Social control............................................................................. 40
2.4.7 Strength of ties .......................................................................... 40
vii
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
Immigrants‟ social capital on the web ................................................ 41
How modern trends influence migration ............................................ 45
Online and offline synergies .............................................................. 49
The effects of online influences on the offline lives of immigrants ..... 50
3 The motivation of immigrants for using the web ....................................... 55
3.1 The research field.............................................................................. 56
3.2 Analytical approach ........................................................................... 57
3.2.1 Location .................................................................................... 57
3.2.2 Classification ............................................................................. 58
3.2.3 Technological analysis .............................................................. 59
3.3 Research restrictions......................................................................... 60
3.4 Classification ..................................................................................... 62
3.5 The case of Serbian diaspora............................................................ 71
3.5.1 Location .................................................................................... 72
3.5.2 Classification ............................................................................. 72
3.6 The case of Swedish immigrants....................................................... 76
3.6.1 Location .................................................................................... 76
3.6.2 Classification ............................................................................. 76
3.7 Interpretation of findings and comparison of two cases ..................... 78
3.8 Answer to RQ1 .................................................................................. 81
4 The acquisition of social capital ................................................................ 85
4.1 Indicators of social capital acquisition ............................................... 86
4.2 The historical background of the two communities ............................ 90
4.2.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ ............................................................................ 91
4.2.2 THE LOCAL ................................................................................. 91
4.3 Demographic items ........................................................................... 92
4.3.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ ............................................................................ 92
4.3.2 THE LOCAL ................................................................................. 93
4.3.3 Comparison ............................................................................... 98
4.4 Research methodology ..................................................................... 99
4.4.1 Internet-based ethnographic approach ................................... 100
4.4.2 Criteria for the five KPIs .......................................................... 102
4.5 Indicator 1: Community building ...................................................... 105
4.5.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 105
4.5.2 Factors and measurements..................................................... 108
4.5.3 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 108
viii
4.5.5 Comparison of community building ......................................... 110
4.5.6 Section conclusions ................................................................ 111
4.6 Indicator 2: Community norms and values ...................................... 112
4.6.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 113
4.6.3 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 115
4.6.5 Comparison of generation of trust ........................................... 116
4.7 Indicator 3: Community identity and immigration issues .................. 117
4.7.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 118
4.7.3 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 121
4.7.5 Comparison of community identity and immigration issues ..... 125
4.8 Indicator 4: Diffuse reciprocal activities ........................................... 127
4.8.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 129
4.8.3 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 130
4.8.5 Comparison of diffuse reciprocal activities .............................. 131
4.9 Indicator 5: Community engagement ............................................... 132
4.9.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 133
4.9.3 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 134
4.9.5 Comparison of community engagement .................................. 135
4.10 The division between bonding and bridging .................................... 136
4.10.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 136
4.10.3 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 139
4.10.5 Comparison of bonding and bridging activity........................... 142
4.11 An answer to RQ2 ........................................................................... 143
4.11.1 Conclusions on the KPIs and the division
between bonding and bridging activity ................................................ 143
ix
4.11.2 Validated KPIs and tangibility .................................................. 148
5 Offline effects for immigrants .................................................................. 149
5.1 The undeniable impact of IT on immigrants‟ lives ............................ 150
5.2 Methodology: online interviews ....................................................... 152
5.2.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 158
5.2.2 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 160
5.2.3 The discovery of the invisible layer ......................................... 162
5.3 Demographic data of the participants .............................................. 164
5.3.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 164
5.3.2 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 166
5.4 Community building ......................................................................... 166
5.4.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 166
5.4.2 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 170
5.4.3 Section conclusion .................................................................. 173
5.5 Community norms and values ......................................................... 174
5.5.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 174
5.5.2 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 176
5.6 Community identity and immigration issues .................................... 178
5.6.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 179
5.6.2 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 183
5.7 Diffuse reciprocal activities .............................................................. 187
5.7.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 188
5.7.2 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 191
5.8 Community engagement ................................................................. 193
5.8.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ .......................................................................... 194
5.8.2 THE LOCAL ............................................................................... 196
5.9 An answer to RQ3 ........................................................................... 199
5.9.1 An information centre for the real life world ............................. 201
5.9.2 A communication space .......................................................... 203
5.9.3 Relationship building tool ........................................................ 204
6 Conclusions and future research ............................................................ 207
6.1 The research process...................................................................... 207
6.1.1 Descriptive analysis – quantitative analysis ............................ 208
6.1.2 Ethnographic interpretation – qualitative analysis ................... 208
6.1.3 Interviews – qualitative analysis .............................................. 209
x
6.2 Answers to the RQs ........................................................................ 210
6.2.1 The main motivation (RQ1) ..................................................... 211
6.2.2 Is social capital a tangible acquisition? (RQ2) ......................... 212
6.2.3 The offline effects (RQ3) ......................................................... 213
6.3 Answers to the Problem Statement and our Conclusions................ 214
6.3.1 Research methodology ........................................................... 214
6.3.2 Connecting the conclusions of the RQs .................................. 215
6.3.3 Answering the Problem Statement .......................................... 217
6.3.4 Contrasting theory and research results ................................. 217
6.4 Future research ............................................................................... 219
References .................................................................................................. 221
Appendices .................................................................................................. 241
Appendix A .............................................................................................. 241
Appendix B .............................................................................................. 243
Appendix C.............................................................................................. 245
Appendix D.............................................................................................. 247
Appendix E .............................................................................................. 255
Appendix F .............................................................................................. 261
Summary ..................................................................................................... 327
Samenvatting............................................................................................... 333
Curriculum Vitae .......................................................................................... 339
SIKS Dissertation Series ............................................................................. 341
TiCC Ph.D. Series ....................................................................................... 357
xi
xii
List of Definitions
Definition 1.1
Definition 1.2
Definition 1.3
Definition 1.4
Definition 1.5
Definition 1.6
Definition 1.7
Definition 1.8
Definition 1.9
Definition 1.10
(Immigrants) .......................................................................... 2
(Social Network).................................................................... 3
(Web Community) ................................................................. 4
(Social Capital)...................................................................... 4
(Bonding Social Capital) ....................................................... 5
(Bridging Social Capital) ....................................................... 5
(Network Society).................................................................. 6
(Incorporation)..................................................................... 11
(Integration)......................................................................... 11
(Web Space) ....................................................................... 13
xiii
xiv
List of Figures
Figure 3.1
Porter´s classification of virtual communities (Porter, 2004)..... 68
Figure 4.1
Figure 4.2
Invitation to advertise on THE LOCAL web community ............. 109
The readers of THE LOCAL and their work ............................... 109
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2
The SERBIAN CAFÉ Publishing page ........................................ 158
THE LOCAL users‟ Control Panel ............................................. 161
xv
xvi
List of Tables
Table 1.1
The structure of the thesis. ....................................................... 28
Table 3.1
Classification of web communities as a function
of characteristics of communication (Burnett , 2000) ............... 64
Table 3.2 Classification of web communities as a function
of supporting platforms ............................................................. 65
Table 3.3 Classification of web communities as a function
of characteristics of communication (Dube et al, 2006) ............ 66
Table 3.4 Classification of virtual communities as a function
of establishment and relationship orientation (Porter, 2004) .... 69
Table 3.5 Classification of the 67 web spaces of the Serbian
diaspora according to Porter‟s model (see Figure 3.1) ............. 69
Table 3.6 Classification of the 67 web spaces of the Serbian
diaspora by expanding Porter‟s model ..................................... 71
Table 3.7 Classification of 67 web spaces for Serbian diaspora
immigrants ............................................................................... 74
Table 3.8 Daily reach of Serbian diaspora web spaces ........................... 75
Table 3.9 Classification of 36 web spaces of Swedish Immigration ......... 77
Table 3.10 Daily reach of web spaces of Swedish Immigration ................. 78
Table 3.11 Comparison between percentages Serbian diaspora
and Swedish immigration ......................................................... 79
Table 3.12 Chi square statistics for Serbian Diaspora (SD)
and Swedish Immigration (SI) .................................................. 80
Table 4.1
Dimensions and components of social capital by
Parts (2009) ............................................................................. 88
Table 4.2 SERBIAN CAFÉ users characterised by place of residence ........ 92
Table 4.3 SERBIAN CAFÉ users characterised by age, gender,
education level and place of connection .................................. 93
Table 4.4 THE LOCAL users characterised by place of origin .................... 94
Table 4.5 THE LOCAL users characterised by place of residence.............. 94
Table 4.6 THE LOCAL users roughly characterised by age,
gender, education .................................................................... 94
Table 4.8 THE LOCAL users characterised by place age,
gender, education .................................................................... 95
Table 4.9 THE LOCAL users characterised by place of origin .................... 96
xvii
Table 4.11 THE LOCAL users roughly characterised by age,
gender, and education) ............................................................ 96
Table 4.12 Combined results of THE LOCAL users‟ place of origin .............. 97
Table 4.13 Combined results of THE LOCAL users‟ place of residence ....... 97
Table 4.14 Combined results of THE LOCAL users, characterised
by age, gender and educational level....................................... 97
Table 4.15 Comparison of data of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and
THE LOCAL users‟ place of origin ............................................... 88
THE LOCAL users‟ place of residence ....................................... 88
THE LOCAL users‟ age, gender, education level ....................... 88
Table 4.18 Number of quotations for validation of KPIs ........................... 104
Table 4.19 Criteria for validation of KPIs and the divide
between bonding and bridging activity ................................... 143
Table 5.1
Table 5.2
Three new offline effects in relation to the eight issues .......... 200
Three new offline effects in relation to the five KPIs ............... 201
Table 6.1
The five Key Performance Indicators and their
seven criteria .......................................................................... 209
The five Key Performance Indicators and their
interview questions................................................................. 210
Table 6.2
xviii
1 Introduction
In the 20th century, the continuation of migration processes accelerated due
to four rather diverse developments and their consequences. They are best
indicated by (1) the growing globalisation, (2) modern technology, (3) the new
and social media, and (4) cheap flights. For our study we combine the
developments and products (2), (3), and (4) into one phenomenon:
information technology (IT). The present globalisation is not the first one (cf.
Massey and Taylor, 2004), but it is new in the sense of creating new
challenges. We observe four factors that can lead to challenges: (a) the
growing international mobility of people, whereby millions are not living in the
countries of their citizenship; (b) the impact of global markets; (c) the transnational corporations; and (d) the international culture. All four factors have
exerted much influence in the past twenty years (for the period 1990-2000,
see Castles and Davidson, 2000; for 2000-2010 see Castells, 2010).
Research from the UN estimates that the total number of international
immigrants in the world in 2010 was around 214 million, approximately 3% of
the world‟s population (http://esa.un.org).
At the present time (2013) we see two phenomena interacting: (a) human
migration; and (b) the IT revolution. Our research is based on these two
phenomena in combination with the concept of social capital. We aim at
understanding the mutual relationship of the three concepts. Since IT is too
broad a concept for our study, we restrict this concept to web communities.
We consider web communities as the main agent of our research. Therefore
this thesis is entitled: “Web Communities, Immigrants, and Social Capital”.
In this chapter we introduce the reader into the intricacies of the relationships.
We start by explaining immigration (section 1.1), information technology
(section 1.2), and social capital (section 1.3). Then we focus on historical
changes (section 1.4). To understand the research in its full depth we
elaborate on the main concepts (section 1.5): immigrants‟ integration, web
communities, and social capital. The concepts used in these introductory
descriptions of our ideas are the drivers for the problem statement and the
three research questions (section 1.6). In section 1.7, we give our research
design and describe the research methodology to be followed throughout the
whole thesis. Finally, we provide the structure of the thesis in section 1.8.
1
1.1 Immigration
The first worldwide phenomenon to be discussed is immigration. From the
literature and from immigrants‟ experiences we learn that immigrants: (1) are
usually treated differently than native citizens; (2) cope with specific barriers;
and (3) remain for generations in lower economic and social conditions, even
when living in the richest and most developed countries of the Western world.
According to an OECD report (see Rudiger and Spencer, 2003) we observe
that, with regard to employment, immigrants and ethnic minorities suffer on a
regular basis from many setbacks. The following five setbacks are identified
by Rudiger and Spencer (2003): (1) low employment rates; (2) concentration
in specific segments of the labour market; (3) low wages; (4) poor working
conditions; and (5) under-representation in senior positions in the workplace.
Admittedly, all five setbacks are work related and not all setbacks occur in
every European country. For the sake of clarity we present our definition of
immigrants below.
Definition 1.1 (Immigrants). Immigrants are people who are trying to settle
permanently in more prosperous places, migrating from rural to urban, from
non-opportunity areas to job available areas, from periphery to core (cf. Li,
2003).
Here we remark that nowadays migration processes are also taking place
between urban locations. Immigrants are moving to other countries, or
between two countries other than their own, and between different cities in
the same country (Vertovec, 2007). In the definition, we see the notions
“periphery” and “core”. For a proper understanding these terms should be
defined. However, what is core for one person can still be periphery for
somebody else. For instance, a migration can be based on ethnic reasons,
political reasons, reasons of religion and so on, and then the core can be
different for the migrants. In this thesis we maintain the notions as they are,
with potentially different interpretations when they are not crucial for our
investigations. We believe that they serve our idea of immigrants very well
and that they are tractable in our discourse.
In general, European countries have different traditions and different
approaches for dealing with immigration. Yet, in all cases, socio-economic
data for employment, education, health and housing by the immigrant
population has showed that an equal and proportional inclusion of immigrants
and ethnic minorities in vital spheres of life has not been achieved (cf.
2
Dumont and Lemaitre, 2004). Three years later a study by Buonfino et al.
(2007) found that immigrants even brought more polarisation and scepticism
into the host society. In the past five years many investigators have
emphasised that polarisation and scepticism (Somerville & Goodman, 2010;
Wagner, Muller & Scherrer, 2011; Kymlica, 2012). Immigration therefore
remains a problem for the immigrants and for the receiving countries.
However, since the emergence of IT, important changes have been
introduced in the way people communicate and connect with each other, as a
result of which we may expect an important change in the situation of
immigrants. That is precisely our research topic.
1.2 Information technology
A second worldwide phenomenon is the IT revolution. It started around 1990
with the introduction of the world wide web (www) which resulted in an
exponential growth in the number of Internet users. By the end of the 20 th
century it was estimated that there were 300 million Internet users (cf. Warf,
2001). According to Internet World Stats, the number of Internet users by the
end of March 2011 was roughly 2.095 milliard1, which is 30.2% of the world
population (www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm). Thanks to the fast
development of Internet technology we nowadays have: easy mutual
communication, straightforward use of multimedia files, almost immediate
interaction, real-time communication, and user-friendly software solutions.
The easy usability of publishing software, and the fact that users do not need
to make any investment in order to publish, led to an enormous increase in
the number of web sites. That increase coincided with the new concept of
interactivity and the corresponding immediacy of action. Interactivity is a form
of communication in which all are able to communicate (i.e., to act and react).
As a direct consequence, all individual web users were able to construct a
public profile for themselves and to share an arbitrary connection with other
users. This is called a social network.
Definition 1.2 (Social Network). A social network is a group of people who
mutually interact and share their connections.
In this thesis social network sites and their users are called web communities
(cf. Boyd and Ellison, 2007). Below, we provide a brief support for the
development of this concept, which returns in definition 1.3. Already in the
1
In American English a milliard is called a billion (=10 to the power 9)
3
1980s Wellman (1988) acknowledged that a community is the basic metaphor
for the most important class of relationship. He argued that community is the
primary tie that goes beyond a household and connects people in larger
social systems. Subsequently, communities provide people with new means
for gaining access to the resources of these social systems. Later, Wellman
(1996) expanded the “community” concept by defining a computer mediated
social network as follows.
“When a computer network connects people, it is a social network.”
(Wellman, 1997; p. 2)
We take this definition and Wellman‟s other ideas together, and define web
communities as follows.
Definition 1.3 (Web Community). A web community is a group of individuals
who mutually interact in a social network by using the web.
Borkert, Cingolani, and Premazzi (2009) argue that the usage of IT by
immigrants is a key factor in creating the dynamics of modern immigration.
New IT-based networks create a larger pull factor for further immigration and
by doing so they increase the overall extent of migration. As a consequence
of that increase we may state that changing the way immigrants are
connected has brought a change in the understanding of social capital (see
1.3).
1.3 Social capital
Having defined immigration as the intention of immigrants to settle
permanently in a new society (Li, 2003), we will introduce the topic of social
capital as one of the positive influences on an immigrant‟s integration into the
arrived-in society (cf. Cachia et al., 2007). As an aside we mention that we
treat immigration in the narrow sense as defined by Li (2003), and not in the
broader sense as defined by Vertovec (2007). Moreover, we define social
capital as follows.
Definition 1.4 (Social Capital). Social capital represents a single value that
is composed of four other values that come from: (1) connections between
individuals who are members of social networks; and (2) three elements that
are derived from their connection, namely the norms of reciprocity,
trustworthiness, and cooperation.
4
Discussing social capital as a fundamental concept, Ostrom (2000) analyses
four characteristics of social capital: (1) social capital does not wear out with
use, but rather with disuse; (2) social capital is difficult to observe and
measure; (3) social capital is hard to construct through external actions; and
(4) governmental institutions strongly influence the type and the level of social
capital available to individuals, in order to pursue long lasting development
effects. According to Ostrom and Ahn (2003), social capital is a property of
individuals and their relationships that improves their capability to solve
collective problems.
Web communities and their features are a prime example of social capital,
since they may facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit (cf.
Putnam, 1993). Social capital provides at least three vital resources for
immigrants: (1) connections; (2) information; and (3) networks that give a
sense of identity and a feeling of belonging to the community. Moreover, all
three are quite useful as practical support in everyday life. Scholars
(Granovetter, 1983; Putnam, 2000; Norris, 2002; Putnam, 2004) made the
distinction between two types of social capital, viz. (a) bonding; and (b)
bridging; depending on the question of to whom a person is connected.
Taking the best from all definitions we define the two types below.
Definition 1.5 (Bonding Social Capital). Bonding social capital is social
capital based on strong ties between individuals, family ties, and closest
friends, connecting people of the same background and similar beliefs.
Definition 1.6 (Bridging Social Capital). Bridging social capital is social
capital based on weak ties between individuals, acquaintances, and
colleagues, connecting people of diverse background and beliefs.
According to Norris (2002) it is still not clear to what extent IT has the
capacity to supplement, restore, or even replace social contacts. Her
research strongly suggests that online contacts do bring together people who
share the same beliefs or interests. The bonding social capital of a small
community enables those of different backgrounds and beliefs to exchange
ideas, which may lead to a bridging social capital. However, Zinnbauer (2007)
claims that social capital delivered by IT is more often of a bonding than of a
bridging nature. By concluding that this might be dangerous, having
immigrants mostly using IT to stay connected with their country of origin and
thus disconnected from the hosting society, he acknowledges that social
capital acquisition by IT usage is quite important for the inclusion of
5
immigrants. Zinnbauer suggests that further research should be performed in
order to find a way to use social networking in a positive direction.
Furthermore, the contemporary migration dynamic has been changed as a
consequence of historical changes, so we next discuss how those changes
have influenced the current state of immigration.
1.4 Historical changes and their development
From the start of this thesis we have emphasised that we live in a time of
great historical changes. At this point we introduce the emergence of social
capital and its consequences. The processes underlying the changes thus
involve an interaction between three concepts: (a) human migration; (b) the
information technology revolution; and (c) the emergence of social capital as
a new form of social organisation - networking. The interaction between these
three concepts creates a new social structure, called a network society
(Castells, 2002). In section 1.5 we will examine further the development of
these three concepts, leading to the main fields of our research.
Definition 1.7 (Network Society). “Network society is a social formation with
an infrastructure of social and media networks enabling its prime mode of
organisation at all levels (individual, group/organisational, and societal)” (van
Dijk, 2006, p.20).
According to Castells the new social structure permeates throughout all
layers of our society. That fact elevates the concept of the network society to
be the starting idea of this research. Assuming that we live in a new form of
social organisation (i.e., networking), and assuming that we are surrounded
by network technology and the proliferation of web communities (i.e., new
social structures in the virtual world), the challenging question is: Why should
we not consider these networks as a new opportunity for the easier
integration of immigrant societies?
Obviously, all immigrants have a need for information because they are
tasked with solving many everyday practical problems in order to adjust to
their life in a new and different country. In an attempt to satisfy this need,
immigrants are using all available means of technology and human
resources. Internet users claim that the Internet provides the best source of
information, by virtue of its new and better means of communication, while
some ten years ago Internet sceptics claimed that the Internet just keeps
people away from the best form of information, which is that provided by real
6
life experiences and by their communities (cf. Wellman, Quan-Haase, Witte &
Hampton, 2001). At the present many results show that no one is completely
correct on this matter (cf. Wellman et al., 2001; Maya-Jariego et al., 2009;
Ala-Mutka, 2010). According to Wellman and his colleagues, the Internet is
becoming normalised and incorporated into everyday life. However, in 2001
they argued that an intensively used Internet would indeed be associated with
an increased participation in voluntary organisations and politics, but also that
the Internet would supplement the existing acquisition of social capital in real
life. Due to progress since then current opinions suggest that the Internet is
empowering the individual by: (1) an increased use of information and
knowledge (Ala-Mutka et al., 2009); (2) an increase of interpersonal
connectivity (Ala-Mutka, 2010); and (3) organisational involvement (MayaJariego et al., 2009). Moreover, there is further supporting evidence from: (4)
the set of recommendations for using IT for the purpose of immigrant
integration in the European Union (EU), proposed by the report of Codagnone
and Kluzer (2011); and (5) the positive effects of learning a second language
(L2) by using IT literacy programs (Driessen et al., 2011).
From many observations (e.g., Fisher, Durrance, and Hinton, 2004; Chiswick
and Miller, 2007; Scopsi, 2009; Diminescu et al., 2009; Nedelcu, 2009; Spotti,
Kluzer and Ferrari, 2010) we learn that immigrants are enthusiastic users of
technologies. According to Chiswick and Miller (2007), recently arrived
immigrants are much more likely (by 15%) to use computers than the native
born. Further analysis shows that computer usage has a positive effect on
earnings, both for the native born and for immigrants, yet the effects are
much larger for the foreign born. An earlier study by Fisher et al. (2004)
showed how literacy and coping skills are used to benefit the immigrant users
of public library software. That study showed that community services
delivered by IT usage can give the immigrants long-term positive results. The
line of reasoning is as follows: Immigrants become long-term users, they
spread positive effects and satisfactory stories which in turn lead to an
increased number of users among friends and family. This holds even for
newly arrived immigrants. Fisher et al. (2004) stated that this was a clear
example of a strong social impact that enabled the building of social capital,
and subsequently scholars confirmed a positive impact of IT usage on social
integration (Georgiadou and Kekkeris, 2007; Kluzer, Haché, and Codagnone,
2008; Osimo, 2008; Diminescu et al., 2009; Ala-Mutka et al., 2009; Van Hoye,
Van Hooft, and Lievens, 2009; Rainer and Siedler, 2009; Ala-Mutka, 2010;
Spotti et al., 2010; Codagnone and Kluzer, 2011).
7
The developments of the past ten years have been described and predicted
by many authors. We single out two groups of researchers since they were
among the first groups within their topic of research to describe and predict
the development of the use of IT instruments by immigrants. The first group,
represented by Staeheli et al. (2002), pointed out that the Internet is much
more effective as an information tool than as a tool for the mobilisation of
immigrants. Many of the web sites identified in their research were directed at
providing services and they served as an advocacy for low-income or
otherwise marginalised immigrants, while only government and businesssponsored sites provided information that might also be helpful for “high
flying” immigrants.
The second group, represented by Fisher et al. (2004), argues that an
immigrant‟s need for emotional security is driven by a range of social needs,
including the need to meet others in similar circumstances, and the need to
feel part of a larger, new community, as well as the need to maintain
connections with their native culture. The Internet and web communities
combine to create one of the best tools to satisfy that need for emotional
security. Currently, the emphasis of researchers in the fields of IT and
immigration is on providing sufficient information relating to the adaptation
possibilities against the five setbacks identified in section 1.1.
1.5 Main concepts
The use of concepts is a delicate matter, the more so when previously
chosen concepts change in meaning and application over time. In such cases
experienced researchers adapt concepts and their names to handle new
research questions appropriately. We follow this course when defining the
main concepts of this thesis. The theoretical framework of this study
combines three fields of interest: (a) the integration of immigrants (1.5.1); (b)
web communities (1.5.2) and six characteristics of web spaces (1.5.3); and
(c) social capital (1.5.4). In our discussion below of these three fields we
employ seminal publications as well as recent publications, preferring seminal
publications so as to provide robust credentials.
1.5.1 Immigrants’ integration
In section 1.1 we provided some background information and gave a selected
definition. Below we focus on the term “integration”. Vermeulen and Penninx
(2000) argue that the term integration is more appropriate than other terms
8
and synonyms employed in the literature, stating that integration in Europe
exists in three predominant models:
(1) the assimilation model – as in France,
(2) the partial exclusion model – as in Germany,
(3) the multicultural model – as in Sweden.
According to Vermeulen and Penninx (2000) the term integration mostly
suggests a need for unity, harmony, and a normative census. Somewhat
earlier, a big scientific debate in this specific field had resulted in proposing
the new term incorporation, hoping that it would be less prejudicial (Portes &
Rumbaut, 1996). Glick Schiller, Basch & Blanc (1995) did not debate the
issue of assimilation vs. transnationalism, but instead commented on
incorporation that can be local, national, and global at the same time. In the
literature the term assimilation was abandoned, and the more adequate term
integration was introduced. Still, there is an argument that the term integration
should instead be incorporation because it covers a wider area and may
function as an umbrella concept. However, Vermeulen and Penninx (2000)
use integration exactly as this umbrella concept. No matter how big is the
debate on the terminology, it is important to emphasise that there is no
disagreement about the goals of immigrants with respect to social and
economic incorporation/integration.
The goals of the integration policy for immigrants are: (1) full and active
citizenship, which implies rights and duties on both sides. The government is
under obligation to provide opportunities and immigrants are obliged to
embrace them (see Vermeulen & Penninx, 2000); (2) equal access, both for
native and immigrant citizens, to all the important institutions in the hostcountry; and (3) equal participation in economic and political life. There is a
huge debate on how socio-economic and socio-cultural integration influence
each other (for the moment we disregard the question as to whether both can
be attained at all). And which factors are responsible for successful upward
mobility is still a central issue in immigration-integration theories. Two
instances of issues are: (1) is cultural assimilation a precondition for upward
mobility? and (2) is upward mobility delivered by group solidarity? (cf.
Vermeulen & Penninx, 2000). The literature shows that, in the long run,
almost all immigrant groups integrate into their host society (see Lindo, 2000;
Putnam, 2007). What varies between different immigrant groups is the period
of time in which the immigrants achieve integration.
9
It is rather important to keep in mind that the process of integration is not a
one-way street. Whether or not they will manage to integrate successfully
does not only depend on the immigrants themselves. Integration is a two-way
process that also depends on the host society and how and when they will
accept the newcomers. According to Lindo (2000), who describes this twoway process, the integration of immigrants “that rarely beat the ideological
drums” (p.124) tends to be much easier and faster. He refers to the South
European immigrants in the Netherlands who did not have a need to be
profiled in terms of ethnic differences. The reason may be that Dutch society,
according to Lindo (2000), labelled the “cultural distance” to South Europeans
as “small” in comparison with the distance to Turks or Moroccans. He
expressed it as follows. “At a more informal level, socio-cultural integration
involves the degree to which one develops interpersonal contacts with
individuals from the receiving society, or if these contacts remain limited to
one‟s own group. Ethnic cohesion and participation in society are not mutually
exclusive; persons who associate frequently and strongly with members of
their own group do not necessarily have fewer contacts with people and
institutions outside their own group. In addition, the degree to which one
adopts the behavioural patterns that are customary in the surrounding
society, and the degree to which one‟s lifestyle, habits, and practices are
accepted by the surrounding society belong to the domain of socio-cultural
integration.” (Lindo, 2000, p.125)
Elaborating further on the characteristics of this two-way process of
integration, Vermeulen and Penninx (2000) claim that it is not the size of the
differences that is crucial, rather it is the significance that is awarded to those
differences ‒ sometimes small differences can make more problems than big
ones. According to Glick Schiller et al. (2006), contemporary immigrants that
used to be perceived as uprooted people, facing painful difficulties in new
societies, are best understood as “transmigrants”, thanks to the new concept
of transnational migration ‒ being linked and recognized by more nation
states. Glick Schiller puts processes and social relations into focus rather
than culture, identity or functional integration. This exploration of ties within
and beyond the boundaries of the nation state helps the discussion of the
simultaneity, viz. incorporation within a nation state and transnationality (Glick
Schiller, 2003). Incorporation is defined as the processes of building or
maintaining networks of social relations through which an individual becomes
linked to an institution recognised by one or more nation states. Bearing all
this in mind, integration is defined in our research somewhat in line with all
10
previously presented definitions, but leaning the most on Glick Schiller‟s
(2008) definition of incorporation.
Definition 1.8 (Incorporation). “Incorporation can be defined as the
processes of building or maintaining networks of social relations through
which an individual or an organized group of individuals becomes linked to an
institution recognized by one or more nation states.” (Glick Schiller, 2008,
p.10)
Derived from the above-mentioned ideas we arrive at the central claim of this
thesis: successful immigrant integration is based on a network-building ability.
In our research we use the following definition for the concept of integration.
Definition 1.9 (Integration). Immigrants are integrated into their new host
society when: (1) they communicate on an equal level with all parts of the
host society by sharing the communicational modules, connections, and
networks; (2) they are as well connected as are their hosts; and (3) the host
society fully accepts them, i.e., it ceases to treat them as a corpus alienum.
Having now defined immigrant integration, in the next subsection we
elaborate on our second field of interest ‒ web communities.
1.5.2 Web communities
As a sequel to section 1.2 on information technology, we now concentrate on
web communities. The word “community” comes from the Latin word
“communitas” which means sharing, participating, and fellowship. From this it
is clear that a community is much more than just a set of people. At the end
of the 19th century, Tönnies (1887, 2002) made a distinction between two
types of social groupings: community and society, or in the German original
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.
Gemeinschaft, or community, represents a grouping based on: (a) a feeling of
togetherness and mutual bonds; (b) shared beliefs; and (c) a common system
of values. These bases of grouping create a goal to be aspired to by
associations that are marked by a “unity of will”. Tönnies (1887) saw the
family as a perfect example of Gemeinschaft. In contrast Gesellschaft, or
society, represents a group of people that never takes more importance than
the self-interest of the individuals. Social ties in this type of group are usually
superficial and instrumental.
11
At the same time, communities that exist by using features of the web may be
described by the term “web communities”. There are many discussions in the
literature regarding the definition of a web community or any other community
mediated through technology, such as online communities or virtual
communities. In definition 1.3 we gave our description of web community.
However, for a better understanding it is wise to review some other opinions.
Woolgar (2002) calls web communities “early enthusiasm”. He gives special
attention to confusing ideas and terms such as “virtual society”, “interactive”,
“remote”, “distance”, “digital”, “electronic”, “e”, and “network” ‒ terms that are
to be found throughout the literature, describing different activities or social
institutions. We have adopted the term “web” (see section 1.2) in order: (1) to
find a particular term that will encompass this research about communities
that exist and function on the world wide web; and (2) to work with a term that
refers to where changes are taking place. The adoption of the term “web” was
made for five reasons.
(1) The web is not the Internet – the web comprises almost everything
from the first e-mail onwards: IRC systems, e-mails, mail lists,
forums, web sites, and even web communities. The web is part of the
Internet‟s process of evolution. It is a technology developed in the
1990s delivered by the application-level protocol - HyperText
Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The technology led to the establishment of
the World Wide Web, thus labelled, by Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 1990.
(2) The latest evolution of user friendly software in the 2000s ‒ software
that enabled users also to be designers and contributors ‒ enabled
real time interactivity and led to a new conceptualisation of space.
Nevertheless, Web 2.0 is not a new technological achievement in the
sense of new Internet protocols, different connections or data
delivery. It is based on linked data and typed data. Web 2.0 is just
another label that intuitively offers more, saying that a shift in
communication is made, from passive to active, from a reader to a
contributor.
(3) The web is a network – the meaning of the word web, cobweb, spider
web, is a network of silken thread. Therefore, metaphorically, the
term web in itself stands for a network of communication lines, so the
terms web and world wide web are synonyms.
(4) The web is encompassing – all terms that exist in the literature such
as “virtual”, “interactive”, “remote”, “distance”, “digital”, “electronic”,
“e” etc. are comprised in the term web. By picking this term, we left
behind numerous discussions and inconsistencies that exist based
only on many terms that are mostly used to discuss the same thing.
12
(5) Web community has an explicit meaning (see definition 1.3) – it
stands for a community that emerged using the web and which exists
on the web.
It is important to emphasise that in this research we distinguish between web
space, web site, and web community. Web site and web community are most
closely related, but certainly not the same. The main difference between them
is that a traditional web site provides one-way information, published
information of which the user has the passive role of reader, whereas web
community stands for a group of people that interact on the web. They can all
design, communicate, publish, and read in the same web environment. In
contrast to one-directional web sites and two-directional web communities we
introduce the concept web space. To make the difference clear, we offer
definition 1.10 ‒ our definition of web space.
Definition 1.10 (Web Space). Web space describes all kinds of web activities
associated with a particular web address.
The term web space is useful, particularly so long as it is not clear that the
place involved is a web site or web community. Web community users have a
purpose of interaction that is supported by technology ‒ they are guided by
norms and policies (Preece, 2000). There are many parameters by which we
can distinguish one type of web community from another. The following five
parameters are clear examples: the effects of time, frequency of interaction,
links within or outside the community, the technology that enables its
existence, and the members‟ motivations for joining the community. Easy-touse publishing tools have led to many different types of web communities.
They deal with many topics, for instance: professional, hobby, sport, art,
games, open source, file sharing, social, local shared beliefs, knowledge,
education, news, or even illicit affairs. Web communities can also be
classified according to how immediate is the communication among their
members. It can be: (1) asynchronous – when one member sends a message
and others read and reply to it sometime later; and (2) real-time – when
members send and read messages almost simultaneously. There are many
classifications of web communities and they are all based on the main topic of
the activities performed by their members.
The reason why this research is centred on web communities as a tool lies in
the drastic changes that have been introduced by the emergence of social
software (see Boyd, 2006; Hellsten, 2007; Ala-Mutka et al., 2009; Ala-Mutka,
13
2010), i.e., virtual communities, or here, web communities. To be more
precise, the changes are: (1) in the way the technologies are designed; (2) in
the way that participation spreads; and (3) in the way people behave. The
design of new technologies is shifted from blocked systems toward open
systems where users continually make changes depending on how they use
the technologies. The systems in the early days of web design, i.e. in the
1990s, were typically closed systems. Only technologically advanced users
were able to make contributions or change published information. After 2000
the web evolved into an open system whereby a contribution on the web was
no longer only preserved for those who were technically advanced. Currently,
every user can contribute, comment, and exchange information, making the
system open (Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, Discussion boards etc.). Thus we
can see that the process of design changed toward a continuous process of
designing and learning from users. At the same time, usability is based on the
human interaction paradigm.
The development of the web from a closed to an open system changed the
way users communicate with each other. Since easy publishing software
enabled every user to be a contributor, the passive role of reading the content
on the web changed into active interaction between users. This interactivity
changed the way we currently perceive the web and the way we operate in a
fully new public space, called a web space.
1.5.3 Six characteristics of the new web space
The proliferation of web communities brought to life a new system of values
and a fully new public space. Below we provide six characteristics of the new
web space.
(1) Democratisation – The possibility to communicate with the rest of
one‟s society without being censored, controlled or observed, brought
the web to a state of real democratisation (Rheingold, 2000).
(2) New Identity - To understand and evaluate communication, which is
the primary activity of a web community, one must know the identities
of the others with whom one is communicating (Donath, 1996). A
particular nickname will be understood and evaluated on the basis of
the behaviour of the person behind that nickname. This independent
identity is one of the most valuable aspects of the web culture. It
allows users to explore roles and relationships that might otherwise
be closed to them.
(3) Anonymity - In most cases, social, national or gender issues will only
affect membership in web communities if the community is created
14
specifically to cater for such groups. The members are normally
asked for their name, e-mail address, and password. The web
provides the opportunity for direct communication, but a user‟s real
identity, sex or race is never certain, since people can have a
separate identity on the internet that is not necessarily the same as
their real identity. For this reason, web communities create the
possibility of transcending many offline (real world) barriers and
borders.
(4) Social networks - Wellman (2001) predicted that every individual will
eventually become some kind of communication node, and that
through telephoning, writing, sending text messages, and e-mailing,
they will form a race of “human portals”.
(5) Self-organising – The web is a uniquely self-organising innovation,
which requires individuals to participate with the technology in order
for a community to develop (e.g., www.wikipedia.com).
(6) Mutual aid - What made human computer interaction and gathering
so impressive is the fact that human interaction, pushed by modern
technology, has given rise to interesting and quite positive results in
the field of mutual aid.
The web is not only changing how people communicate, it is also changing
with whom they communicate. Moreover, the web enables its users to meet
people online, even those who they may never meet in person (see di Genaro
and Dutton, 2007). The six characteristics listed above are expected to create
positive effects in the sphere of immigrant integration. The reconstruction of
new communities, now more able to avoid social and space barriers, may
provide a new opportunity to immigrant individuals and groups. Therefore,
web communities may be an appropriate tool to meet some of the challenges
faced by immigrants.
1.5.4 Social capital: building integration networks
In this section we elaborate on the social capital concept that has been
defined and briefly introduced in section 1.3.
Our current global society is characterised by a new social norm of
organisation (Castells, 2000). In a world where the Internet is the major mode
of communication we have a new pattern of sociability – the network society.
One peculiarity of the network society is that it brings new sets of information
technologies. We have a new informational economy, networked and global;
work and employment are transformed; cultural expressions are shaped by
15
IT; politics is fundamentally affected; the notions of time and space have also
changed. The state as the traditional centre of power is going through a
drastic transformation.
Today the world around us exhibits a tendency of being organised in
networks, and this trend is particularly important for the present study. One of
the key issues amongst the social problems of immigrant integration is that
the typical immigrant has traditionally been marginalised and discriminated
against by the traditional social organisations, and these factors have often
prevented immigrants from prospering. Perhaps the network-society will
enable immigrants to be better organized socially than they have been with
these more traditional social organisations. Whether or not this will be the
case is still an open question. To answer this question it is logical to regard
the new networks and web communities as social places where social
problems can be overcome. Below we review and delineate the concept of
social capital, leading to definition 1.4 (given in section 1.3).
Social capital is an elastic term with various definitions in many fields. Many
scholars have considered this topic. We begin our discussion by reference to
Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) who defined social capital as:
“the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an
individual or group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more
or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and
recognition.” (p.14)
With this definition they superseded Coleman‟s (1988) definition, stating that
social capital refers to resources accumulated through the relationships
amongst groups of people. The proposed definitions are slightly different but
they all converge to same point. According to Putnam (2001), this
convergence occurs at the point where networks and associated norms of
reciprocity obtain a value. This idea might be taken as the central idea of
social capital. From the literature we have observed that social capital is
linked to a variety of positive outcomes such as better health, lower crime
rates, and more efficient markets (Adler and Kwon, 2002). Social capital may
also be used for negative purposes, but in general it is seen as a positive
effect of the interaction amongst participants in a social network (Helliwell and
Putnam, 2004). Networks have a certain value for the people in them as well
as for those outside them. This introduces two faces of social capital: private
and public. Private social capital stands for private networks such as close
16
friends or family (Brinton, 2000). A good example of public social capital is
powerful neighbourhood networks that prevent crime. Therefore,
neighbourhoods that are nurturing social capital through barbecues and
cocktail parties are creating a safer environment both for those who are
participating and for those who are not but who live in the same
neighbourhood (Putnam, 2007).
Social capital has two remarkable features, viz. it is multidimensional and it
has the capability of being convertible to other forms of capital. Below we
discuss both features in an alternating manner because they are
intermingled.
Social capital varies and should be observed as multidimensional
(Granovetter, 1973). Some forms of social capital are quite formal, such as
unions of any sort, with rather formal structures having a chairman, a
president, etc. Some forms are quite informal, such as neighbourhood
barbecues. Still, both forms create networks where reciprocity can be easily
developed and where gains can be created. In contrast to these positive
forms, social capital can have a highly negative form, such as the Al Qaeda
network. However, this is a rather good example of social capital where
members are able to do something that would be impossible without their
network. Yet, most evidence suggests that higher levels of social capital lead
to healthier, more educated and safer communities, longer and happier lives,
and better working economies and democracies, as was first remarked by
Putnam (2000). The properties of social capital ‒ trust, norms and networks ‒
tend to be reinforcing and cumulative. Here we enter the world of ethics and
morality. Hirschman (1986) called social capital a “moral resource”, a
resource that, through use, increases rather than decreases, and which
becomes impoverished if not used. This characteristic makes social capital
different from physical capital since social capital creates a sort of socially
beneficial perpetuum mobile.
The second remarkable feature is social capital‟s capability of being
convertible into other forms of capital, for example, financial capital (Massey
et al., 2001). By virtue of this feature, social capital enhances the benefits of
investment in human and physical capital. Furthermore, Castles (2000) states
that new virtues, when properly combined, create social capital that makes it
possible to resolve differences. This particular argument situates social
capital quite well in the discussion of solving the problems of immigrants
17
since, by definition, immigrants at the time of their arrival in their new host
country are different from the native born.
Social capital is traditionally seen as a crucial ingredient in the economic
development around the world. The old saying “it is not what you know but
who you know that counts“ vividly describes the traditional importance of
social capital. Investigations into the fast growing economies of East Asia
frequently emphasise the importance of social networks. Hirschman (1986)
coined the term “networking capitalism”. The extraordinary economic
development of China during the 1990s was mainly based on personal
contacts called guanxi (Putnam, 1993). It is the way Chinese people rely on
and nurture social capital that made them one of the most successful
immigrant groups worldwide. Putnam (1993) also showed the advantages of
higher social capital. Where social capital is higher: (a) educational
performances are better; (b) the welfare of children is higher; (c) murder rates
are lower; (d) people are less belligerent; (e) society is marked with greater
tolerance; and (f) there is less economic and civic inequality. Finally, he
concludes that social capital has direct consequences for welfare at the
individual and the community levels.
“…people feel better off when either they or their neighbours have
higher levels of social capital.” (Putnam, 2001, p. 13)
Conversely, being without networks, in a state of isolation, can lead to: (1) a
lack of information (Koser & Pinkerton, 2002); (2) low power; and (3) low
potential for influence.
In conclusion, the convertibility of social capital is a feature that can be
employed effectively when assigning a value to the building block norms of
reciprocity, trustworthiness, and cooperation, which brings us back to the first
remarkable feature, namely multidimensionality. As stated above, immigrant
integration has various dimensions, i.e. it is multidimensional (Granovetter,
1973). For instance, there is the incidence dimension, which in itself includes
two separate characteristics: frequency and intensity. Frequency relates to
the number of ties with their surroundings that an individual or a group
maintains, as well as to the number of actual contacts with others. Intensity
relates instead to the nature of these contacts, and therefore to feelings of
belonging and familiarity. Actually, frequent and intense contacts with others
may lead to a better mutual understanding, and ultimately to a stronger
identification with one another (see Cachia et al., 2007; Georgiadou &
18
Kekkeris, 2007; Valenzuela et al., 2009). In contrast, if people do not identify
with other groups in the society to which they belong, they are unlikely to
develop frequent and intense ties with members of those groups (see
Entzinger & Biezeveld, 2003). This line of reasoning brings us back to our
definition of social capital (definition 1.4).
Bonding and Bridging Social Capital
In section 1.3, we briefly developed two concepts, i.e., bonding and bridging.
Below we provide some background on these concepts. Contemporary
debates on social capital have noted that some local networks or associations
strengthen social cohesion but that others have negative effects (Norris,
2002). This is particularly interesting when observing the effects of social
capital on immigrant integration. To understand this phenomenon, Putnam
(2000) made a clear distinction between two types of groups: (1) groups that
function to connect people with similar backgrounds and beliefs – bonding
groups; and (2) groups that function to connect disparate members of
community – bridging groups. Web-based social groups are bonding when
they connect people of social and ideological homogeneity, and they are
bridging when they connect people of social and ideological heterogeneity
(Norris, 2002). According to Cachia et al.’s (2007) report on the role of social
capital from the perspective of immigrant integration, these resources play an
important role in obtaining better health, better education, greater public
participation, and a better economic situation.
Some characteristics of the virtual world should encourage interaction within
social groups sharing similar beliefs and values (Norris, 2002). If immigrants
were given the opportunity to use IT to provide networking, to re-create old
networks with their country of origin, and to create new ones with their host
society, then that would bring a sense of activity and shared identity, contrary
to the sense of passivity and lack of resilience. The sense of activity supports:
(1) a feeling of belonging; and (2) the creation of trust and norms of
reciprocity. These two reliable feelings of resources make it much easier for
people to function in a new society. The acquisition of new networks is the
basis of immigrant integration. The web is the space where it is easy to find
everything one needs, from human rights discussions and health support to
religious groups for instance. Low-cost, easy-entry easy-exit interaction,
pluralism, freedom of expression, and social support, all combine to provide
quite a comfortable environment for exchange.
19
1.6 Problem statement and three research questions
The driver for this research is the observed effect that two mutually interacting
worlds (online and offline) have on social capital. The scientific literature
offers many arguments for further research in this area. Kavanaugh and
Patterson (2002) show that there is an increase in the social-capital involved
in activities with every additional year of increased access to the Internet.
Howard, Rainie and Jones (2002) make the distinction between experienced
netizens and less experienced Internet users by the way that netizens
incorporate the Internet into home and work life, enhancing their social
relationships. Quan-Haase and Wellman (2002) found that the more time
people spend online, the more they are involved in organisations and politics
both offline and online. This has been confirmed by other scholars (e.g.,
Redecker, Haché & Centeno, 2010; Ala-Mutka et al., 2009). Quan-Haase and
Wellman (2002) also show that longer-term users of Internet have a higher
sense of online community.
The development of this line of thinking was as follows. According to QuanHaase and Wellman (2002), the use of the Internet supplements network
capital by extending existing levels of contact. Internet users are not
employing the Internet to act as a substitute for face-to-face encounters,
telephone calls, or visits, but in most cases they use the Internet to contact
people who live close to themselves. However, what about those who live far
apart? It seems that they have less frequent contact, although those with
long-distance ties employ the Internet for their mutual contact more than they
use other IT tools such as telephones. Quan-Haase and Wellman (2002)
point out that the Internet is useful for keeping contact amongst friends. Other
researchers (e.g., Georgiadou & Kekkeris, 2007; Haythornthwaite, 2008;
Redecker et al., 2010) have distinguished between the socially and the
geographically dispersed, and how these respective groups maintain
friendships with those with whom they create social capital (Huysman & Wulf,
2005; Kobayashi, Ikeda & Miyata, 2006; Valenzuela, Park & Kee, 2009),
while Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007) first introduce the maintaining of
social capital. As Donath and Boyd (2004) suggested, bridging social capital,
linked to the notion of weak interpersonal ties, is one of the appropriate
applications for social software because it provides users with the ability to
maintain those ties easily and inexpensively.
Although McQuail (1997) stated that it is not clear to what extent “audiences”,
e.g. users, want to be interactive, he argues that the new interactive media
20
networks will restore the balance of power of the “receIver” against the
“sender”. McQuail reminds the reader that users of new media are under the
continuous influence of social life and technology. We are aware of the
theoretical approach by McQuail, but in this research we do not follow that
logical line. However, our analysis is interdisciplinary and adopts different
approaches as McQuail argues in his later works (2003, 2010).
As stated before, in this research we would like to combine three concepts:
(a) the integration of immigrants; (b) web communities; and (c) social capital.
The main interest that fuels this research is discovering to what extent web
communities can be used as tools to enhance social integration and the
acquisition of social capital. Here it is worthwhile to note that we restrict our
research to: (1) immigrants that left Serbia and live all over the world (mostly
USA, Europe, and Australia); and (2) immigrants that came from all over the
world to Sweden. And we investigate: (3) their web-based communication
and actions; having in mind that (4) Serbian immigrants share the same
cultural background and language; and that (5) immigrants to Sweden have
certain common aspects to their lives in their new location (the same hosting
country, the same local language around them, similar situations when they
look for work, apartments schools.) So they live in similar social contexts
which are defined by Swedish cultural and political everyday life. In summary,
the fact that they are in the same country defines their surroundings and
some of their living conditions.
For an extensive description of the restrictions we have placed on our
research we refer to section 3.3.
A straightforward connection of the two concepts: human immigration and
social capital, leads us to the Problem Statement (PS).
PS: To what extent do immigrants acquire social capital by using
web communities?
If the outcome of this study were to indicate an extreme result, viz. that
immigrants acquire social capital by extensively using web communities, then
web communities could be perceived as web-based tools for the acquisition
of social capital. Furthermore, from the definition of social capital (see
definition 1.4) the tool that can help immigrants in their acquisition of social
capital will at the same time help immigrants to become socially integrated.
21
As a guideline for our research we formulate three research questions (RQs).
They are derived from the PS and will help to answer the PS. Moreover, the
answers to the research questions are also intended to be guidelines for
immigrant integration policy makers. The first research question is as follows.
RQ1: What is the motivation behind the immigrants‟ usage of the
web?
The answer to the first research question will present us with an overview of
immigrants‟ usage of the web. We start from Zinnbauer‟s (2007) report, which
suggests that IT is expanding, transforming, and diversifying social capital by
providing: (1) communication tools; (2) collaborative information sharing; (3)
online meeting spaces; and (4) collaborative projects. We will then analyse
the motivation behind the general usage by immigrants of the web. Our
research will enable us to understand: (a) what brings immigrants together on
the web?; (b) why do they collaborate?; and (c) why do they share
information on the web? Furthermore, this research investigates: (d) the way
immigrants use the web in order to differentiate between the roles they have
in web life. Are the immigrants only publishing information or only reading
information, or are they perhaps coming together in an online meeting space
in order to interact (i.e., being a web community)? Finally: (e) we will be able
to identify what type of approach attracts most immigrants in one common
web space.
Our second research question reads as follows.
RQ2: Is the acquisition of social capital from immigrants in webcommunities a tangible acquisition?
As a starting point we use the identification of the main indicators of social
capital by Morgan and Swann (2004), viz: (1) social relationship and social
support; (2) formal and informal social networks; (3) group membership; (4)
community and civic engagement; (5) norms and values; (6) reciprocal
activities; and (7) the level of trust in others. We perform qualitative
investigations across these seven indicators to see whether immigrants do
use web communities for the acquisition of social capital.
The third research question reads as follows.
RQ3: What are the offline effects of immigrants‟ online activities?
22
By being complex techno-social systems, web communities and effects of the
online interaction can be analysed across a large body of literature that spans
differerent fields. For example, Gershon (2011) looks at the web communities
through the lns of media ideologies. Acknowledging that the majority of
scholars analyse the ways in which web communities connect people,
Gershon is focused on how new media introduced a new way of
disconnection. However, in our research we do not follow that line.
The research performed in order to answer the third research question will
help us to understand to what extent online activity can give positive results in
real life. If the results suggest that the online activities within specific web
communities help immigrants in the acquisition of social capital and in the
social integration in their real lives, we will be able (by combining these
results with the findings of RQ1 and RQ2), to answer the PS. Furthermore, by
having a complete overview that answers the PS, we hope to reach our goal,
which is coming to an understanding of the role that web communities play in
social integration and in the acquisition of social capital.
1.7 Research design and methodology
Our research is interdisciplinary by nature. It is conducted by using three
complementary methods of analysis: (1) descriptive analysis; (2) good
practice analysis; and (3) interviews. Each method logically derives from the
previous one, and each one of them provides different data and knowledge.
The research starts by analysing the activities of immigrants on the Internet
(1.7.1). Then the best examples of good practice are analysed. The research
method is outlined in subsection 1.7.2. To be able to understand what
precisely motivates users to participate in the hectic life of identified web
communities we will analyse our interviews (1.7.3). Finally, subsection 1.7.4
describes the scope of the research.
1.7.1 Descriptive analysis
Our first step is the analysis of how immigrants use the web, i.e., for what
purpose do they use the web. The goal here is to determine the immigrants‟
“web reality” ‒ those factors, relating to the web, that influence and shape the
lives and the behaviour of immigrants. A web space can be used for different
purposes: (1) health support; (2) religion; (3) human rights discussions; (4)
finding and offering jobs; (5) accommodation, etc. The web provides a
comfortable existence in the virtual world where traditional clues of social
23
identity are hidden, such as gender, race, age, and socio-economic status. It
is logical to expect that this comfort given to the web user creates new
opportunities for traditionally marginalised people such as immigrants (Norris,
2002). According to Norris, participation in a web community has the capacity
to improve the user‟s experience of community, connecting the user with
others of different beliefs and statuses. It can also deepen the user‟s feeling
of community amongst those sharing similar beliefs, thereby strengthening
existing social networks.
As stated in 1.5.3, web-based social groups are bonding when they connect
people of social and ideological homogeneity, and they are bridging when
they connect people of social and ideological heterogeneity (Norris, 2002). At
the same time, bonding social capital connects people of similar sorts, while
bridging social capital connects people of different sort (Putnam, 2000). This
distinction is quite important, not only because it points to two different
directions of the social capital function, but also because bonding is at a
greater risk of producing negative effects while bridging is likely to bring
positive results.
The difference mentioned above is the exact point where we anchored our
research, as mentioned in 1.5. It is the fulcrum for looking in a different way at
the traditional image of immigrant integration.
1.7.2 Good practice analysis
An analysis of good practice starts by obtaining data of the existing web
communities that live and work for a certain period of time. Such a selection
offers much more reliable results than an analysis of all identified web
communities. This thesis focuses on the results of our analysis of two
particular web communities. Out of all the web communities that we identified
from an analysis of the Internet description, we selected those that, in our
opinion, are adequate representatives. Subsequently, we analysed them in
detail. Our analysis consists of two steps.
First, it is necessary to establish criteria for choosing a web community of
good practice. In this research we will focus on those web communities that
satisfy the following three criteria:
(1) They have a healthy life for a certain period of time (with a
representative number of users);
24
(2) They deal with some of the most typical topics of immigration such as
language, news, jobs, accommodation, official documents,
applications of various types, legal conditions, education; and
(3) They provide clear cases of users having direct interaction with them,
including dialogue.
Second, after identifying web communities of good practice, they are
analysed throughout three well-chosen months (from 1-8-2009 to 1-11-2009)
with the aim to:
(1) identify the prevailing topics they are dealing with,
(2) identify the number of users,
(3) identify the contact frequencies of the users,
(4) differentiate between the practices of bonding or bridging,
(5) identify the behavioural trends of new users,
(6) identify whether the users connect only through the web or meet in
real life, and
(7) identify the users‟ demography (age, sex, education).
The outcome of this part of the analysis will be an ethnographic description of
the dynamics and culture of the identified web communities. Also, based on
this part of the research we will be able to identify to what extent the most
successful cases are bonding and bridging social capital. Users of the
selected web communities (the criteria will be explained in Chapter 5) will be
subjected to the third method of analysis, namely interviews.
1.7.3 Interviews
Thinking about interviews, it was immediately apparent that face-to-face
interviews would be impractical, costly and time consuming since the
interlocutors were geographically widely dispersed. As our research focuses
explicitly on web usage, the interviewees should, almost by definition, be web
familiar and experienced at online communication. Therefore, Internet-based
real-time interviews with any real-time conversational tool, particularly a tool
that users prefer, seemed to be a logical solution, being both convenient and
low-cost. To some extent this is an innovative method. In order to obtain a
detailed picture of the life trajectory of bridging and bonding web
communities, users of the two identified web communities were interviewed.
To be able to reach them we presented ourselves on relevant discussion
boards, inviting users of those boards to help in our scientific research. After
establishing a first contact via e-mail communication, the interviews were
performed using textual Skype real-time chat function without camera.
25
We are aware that this way of inviting users might make that the selection of
respondents and interviewees somewhat biased. However, since we are
performing our investigations for two well-chosen groups (the choice is
justified by their nature), we thus may expect that our findings will be valid for
the chosen representatives of the two groups. We believe that these
constraints on the findings still lead to new results in this emerging field of
research.
For any qualitative researcher, the web offers many ways of observing users
and their interactions. The researcher can also interact with users. Through
such observations and interactions we can analyse many different effects on
users introduced by: the language they use, the technology they pick for their
interactions, the cultural codes they express or interpret in that usage, and
how their different (local) times, when they interact, influence their
interactions. By putting all of these factors and effects together the researcher
can get a valid overall picture of web life and the various parameters that
are responsible for it.
The online real-time interviewing method has three key advantages:
(1) It has the ability to conduct real-time interviews, where distance, time
and cost prevent the researcher from face-to-face interviewing;
(2) It has the convenience to log transcripts directly to a computer file,
avoiding transcription errors;
(3) the opportunity for the researcher to work easily at a distance from
the interviewees.
Moreover, we have the possibility to analyse the direct dialogs taken from our
online interactions with the users, and to formulate detailed questions about
the data that we gather. We then may be able to answer the questions as to:
(1) how users perceive their usage of a particular web community; (2) what
effect that usage has on their private real-lives; and (3) other detailed
questions as listed in Chapter 5.
1.7.4 Scope of the research
The design of our research is based on three elements defined by the nature
and situation of the analysis.
(1) The participating immigrants – having the analysis situated on the
web, we are analysing immigrants who are participating in the
activities of web communities according to their own interests.
26
(2) The choice of group to be investigated – starting from the Problem
Statement it is clear that the aim of the research is to investigate the
acquisition of social capital for two different groups of people:
(1) a bonding social capital group ‒ a group of people with same
or similar background, and
(2) a bridging social capital group ‒ a group of people with
different background.
(3) The procedure to be followed – to be able to analyse the participation
of immigrants in web communities we need: (a) to identify; (b) to list;
(c) to measure; and (d) to rank the presence of immigrant web
communities among immigrant websites. Each identified item will be
a matter of investigation based on three parameters:
(1) Location – the identification of web communities and web
sites among all web spaces.
(2) Classification – three levels of classification.
i. The ownership of the web space.
ii. The relationship with a group.
iii. The main interest of the group.
(3) Technological analysis – analysis of two technical features
i. Reach
ii. Traffic
Following these steps we will be able to identify the examples of good
practice as a matter of further analysis (see section 1.7.2 and 1.7.3).
1.8 Structure of the thesis
This thesis consists of six chapters (see Table 1.1). Chapter 1 provides an
introduction to the topic. Moreover, the problem statement is defined and
three research questions are formulated. Then the research methodology is
described and the structure of the thesis is given.
Chapter 2 gives an overview of the literature on web communities,
immigration, and social capital. Also it gives an appropriate background for
the research design and rationale for following immigrants from two different
points of view: (1) when a well-defined group of immigrants resides all over
the world, and (2) when immigrants live in well-defined receiving country.
Chapter 3 describes the identified immigrants‟ web sites by emphasising the
location of the web communities among them. Furthermore, it gives a
27
classification and a technological analysis of reach, and traffic. It identifies
adequate and appropriate web communities. This chapter is designed to
answer RQ1.
Chapter 4 represents a logical continuation. It describes an ethnographic
analysis of the two web communities identified in Chapter 3. The analysis
goes into depth and deals with the bonding and bridging web communities by
following their contributions and behaviours online. It also provides an answer
to RQ2.
Chapter 5 performs an analysis of the users‟ interviews. In direct online
interviews, users answered questions that were designed to enable us to
answer RQ3.
Chapter 6 provides conclusions to all three research questions as well as to
the problem statement. Finally, in this chapter, recommendations are made
for policy makers, and further research.
Table 1.1 The structure of the thesis.
Introduction, Problem
Statement and Research
Questions, Methodology
Literature
Field work, Analysis of the
web for immigrants, RQ1
Field work, Ethnographic
Analysis, RQ2
Field work, Interviews with
users, RQ3
Conclusions, Answers to
the RQs and PS,
Recommendations
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
28
2 The Internet in everyday life – online in offline
In this chapter, we will guide the reader through the plethora of descriptions
and opinions that have been published about the growth of the Internet in our
daily lives, and in particular to the topics that are central to this study: Web
Communities, Immigrants, and Social Capital.
The Internet as we knew it in the 1990s changed significantly with the arrival
of the first dotcom businesses at the beginning of 2000. That transformation
took the Internet from the hands of computer wizards and thrust it into the
world of ordinary people for whom the Internet became an integral part of
their daily lives. As some scholars (e.g., Fernandez and Maldonado, 2001;
Georgiu, 2002; Scopsi, 2009) claimed, community centres and cybercafés
helped the Internet to move from being an elitist means of communication to
a large-scale supporter of everyday pubic activities such as communicating,
sharing, buying, selling, and the like.
The increased availability of (free) access to the Internet has had an
enormous impact on our everyday lives (see Katz et al., 2001; Cachia et al.,
2007; Ala-Mutka et al., 2009; Ala-Mutka, 2010). The Internet increased
friendship commitments (see Chen et al., 2002; Howard et al., 2002),
domestication (see Chen et al., 2002; Haythornthwaite and Kazmer; 2002),
work hours (see Nie et al., 2002; Ala-Mutka et al., 2009), and school work
(see Hampton and Wellman, 2002; Maya-Jariego et al., 2009). It offered
services and a new way of socializing, both of which increase the number of
reasons to be an Internet user (see Katz and Aspden, 1997; Lenhart et al.,
2010; Maya-Jariego et al., 2009; Komito, 2011), and thereby transformed our
society from being a group society to a networked society (cf. Castells, 2000).
To demonstrate the deep relevance and the ground-breaking consequences
that the development of Internet access has created, we start by presenting
the growth of Internet (section 2.1). Then we investigate how the literature
perceives the changes that took place as a result, i.e., the transformation of
social interaction (section 2.2). The role of IT in the social integration of
immigrants (section 2.3) is then discussed. We are not the first to address the
question: “Is a web community a social network?”, and we therefore provide
an extensive overview of other authors who have dealt with this question
(section 2.4). This brings us to an analysis of the social capital of immigrants
on the web (section 2.5). Meanwhile we pose the question: “How do modern
trends of using the web influence migration?” (section 2.6). We complete the
29
chapter with two theoretical perspectives, one from the point of view of
migration theory (section 2.7), and one from the point of view of the effects of
the online influences on the offline lives of immigrants (section 2.8).
2.1 The growth of Internet
Internet statistics demonstrate a rapid growth of its use on a worldwide scale.
The 2.095 billion users in 2012 (www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm)
constitute more than 30% of the world‟s population. Although the capacity of
the Internet to reach far and wide is impressive, a large proportion of the
populations in developing countries2 are not connected to the Internet, have
no interest in using it, or are saddled with a bad infrastructure for its use. This
difference between having and not having Internet access is known as the
digital divide (Sawhney, 2000). While some scholars have presented
evidence that the digital divide is shrinking in developed countries (cf. Chen et
al., 2002), others have demonstrated that this difference in access and use is
related to education and age (cf. Nie and Erbring, 2000). Rice and Katz
(2003) showed that differences in access and usage are related not only to
those two factors but also to gender, income, and race.
According to Fuchs (2009) access to IT is shaped by the interaction of socioeconomic, political, cultural, social, and technological factors. All marginalised
members of our society have specific needs related to using the Internet.
Their needs are regardless of whether their marginalisation is based on their
income, gender, race or sexual orientation, or some other factor. One of the
basic characteristics of virtual communication which is extremely useful for
marginalised people is the possibility of anonymous communication; or
switching between (several) different identities so that, for example, in one
place you are gay, in another you are Serbian, etc. A second useful
characteristic of virtual communication is the possibility of connecting with
someone who is in a very different time zone in a different location. Since the
Internet is a medium which is of special interest for marginalised people, such
2
We use the OECD definition of developing countries. “There is no established convention
for the designation of “developed” and “developing” countries or areas in the United Nations
system. In common practice, Japan in Asia, Canada and the United States in Northern
America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania, and Europe are considered “developed”
regions or areas. In international trade statistics, the Southern African Customs Union is also
treated as developed region and Israel as a developed country; countries emerging from the
former Yugoslavia are treated as developing countries; and countries of Eastern Europe and
the former USSR countries in Europe are not included under either developed or developing
regions.” (Glossary of statistical terms, http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=6326)
30
people regard and use the Internet as a tool with the potential for overcoming
traditional problems (cf. Norris, 2002; Cachia et al., 2007). The research
described in this thesis had as its starting point the need to understand and
alleviate the needs of marginalised immigrant users, in order to help them
solve the chronic problems they encounter on the path to integration.
One of the greatest changes in Internet access during the past two decades
was seen most clearly in the marginalised (and under-represented) groups.
According to Ala-Mutka (2010), the use of the Internet by immigrants gives
them new opportunities, leading to the empowerment of individuals. Katz and
Rice (2002) found that the percentages of women, users in the 40+ age
group, low income earners, and those who are not college graduates, all
increased during the period 1992-2000. And as users gain online experience
they develop into advanced users, and their usage reflects the direction in
which use of the Internet itself evolves.
Cole et al. (2000) clearly establish that email and the search for information
used to account for most of the Internet‟s usage. In 2000 email was the
number one reason for being online. However, ten years later it was social
networking and blogs that accounted for the biggest use of Internet time (AlaMutka, 2010), demonstrating that Internet usage has moved towards a more
social direction.
The second most important reason for Internet consumption has been
searching for information. Long-time users, new users, non-users, and former
users all rank search activity as being one of the two main reasons for being
online (Katz and Aspden, 1997; Hulme, 2009). Between 36% (Nie and
Erbirng, 2000) and 51% (Cole et al., 2000) of users are employing the
Internet to engage in e-commerce by way of the purchase of goods.
According to the Youth Net Report, 75% of 16-24 year old users claimed that
they could not live without the Internet, 84% believed that the Internet brought
communities of similar people together, 82% said that they use the Internet to
find advice or information, while 60% responded that they were looking for
information on someone else‟s behalf (Hulme, 2009). Furthermore, men are
more likely than woman to use the Internet for news, buying products, and
finding financial or hobby information. They spend more of their online time
on sites related to e-commerce, such as e-Bay, while women tend to spend
more time on work-related activities. In contrast women carry their offline
communication behaviour online ‒ they are more likely to use email for
expressive communication ‒ to exchange small talk and engage in
31
communication to build relationships ‒ and they are more likely than men to
continue the offline characteristic of being more noted for maintaining social
ties (cf. Wellman and Haythornthwaite, 2002).
It is common knowledge that the Internet takes time away from other things in
life. The amount of time spent online increases with the number of years of
using the Internet. Up to the year 2000, users with more than four years‟
experience spent 16 hours or more of Internet time per week (see Cole et al.,
2000). Now (2013) it is much higher, though no precise numbers are
available. Scholars disagree on whether the Internet has a positive or
negative impact on users‟ lives, suggesting that the Internet might help
people making social connections to other users, such as for companionship,
emotional support, job advice, etc. We observe that scholars avoid belonging
to one or the other group, positivist or negativist, but in contrast we note that
some scholars define the influence of Internet usage on our lives as an
activity that amplifies what we already do: (1) increasing the sizes of the
social circles for outgoing, extrovert users; and (2) decreasing the size of the
social circles for everyone else (Kraut et al., 2002). Consequently, social
computing can be seen to have introduced a transformation in the nature of
human relationships, and at the same time a change in our general
perception of the Internet (Ala-Mutka et al., 2009). According to Wellman and
Haythornthwaite (2008) spending so much time on the Internet was inevitably
going to create a change in human behaviour patterns. Therefore, in section
2.2, we will focus on the social transformation of society that has been
introduced by the increase in Internet usage.
2.2 The transformation of social interaction
With the increase of the use of the Internet we can observe see that users are
both working and socialising via social networks (Maya-Jariego et al., 2009).
This behaviour typifies a socio-cultural activity. Communicating and
exchanging information in Internet-based social networks, which are often
referred to as “social computing” or “web 2.0”, has transformed the nature of
many personal relationships. That transformation ranges from private
relationships to public relationships, offering new ways of working within and
between public-sector organisations (cf. Ala-Mutka et al., 2009). A
remarkable characteristic of social computing is that it empowers individuals
through the widespread use of information and knowledge. Users are enabled
to acquire knowledge and to create and disseminate content. This ability
gives them the opportunity to influence public organisations and political
32
issues (cf. Ala-Mutka et al., 2009). One of the biggest concerns amongst
scholars relates to the activity of lonely web users ‒ those who sit alone in
front of the computer (see Wellman et al., 2001). The question is, how does
their newly achieved solitary activity affect their local social relationships and
their individual sense of well-being? Much research focuses on the well-being
of geographically defined communities. Are these communities affected when
their members spend their time in their interactions with people outside their
geographically defined area? (Wellman, 1999; Ala-Mutka, 2010). While
Wellman and Ala-Mutka argue that this activity supports socialisation beyond
the users‟ previously defined area, the research performed by Maya-Jariego
et al. (2009) offers examples of a closed community of immigrants who
communicate among themselves. When social computing is used only in a
closed circle for maintaining and developing community ambitions, there is a
risk of exclusion. However, the success of web 2.0 demonstrates the users‟
hybrid motivations where individual goals have the opportunity of being
shared in a public sphere (cf. Cardon and Aguiton, 2007). Consequently, the
social interaction of immigrants through the use of social media has
introduced a transformation in social interaction, supporting the bonding form
of social capital within transnational communities (cf. Komito, 2011).
At this point, we find it important to answer briefly the question: Does using
the Internet mean being alone? Sitting in front of a computer and pursuing
one‟s own individual interests on the Internet might be understood as being
alone. Nevertheless, using the Internet today means communicating with
others, from e-mails to real time interactions in web communities. Therefore,
the answer is that Internet use does not always mean being alone at the
computer. Already, ten years ago, a UCLA study reported that almost half of
the users questioned reported that they were spending a considerable
amount of time each week over the Internet with members of their family (cf.
Cole et al., 2000). According to Howard, Rainie, and Jones (2002) more than
half of the users they questioned (59%) responded that, thanks to the
Internet, they had increased their communication with their families and with
their best friends (60%). In addition, 31% reported having communication with
a family member with whom they did not previously enjoy frequent contact.
Quan-Haase and Wellman (2002) have not found any negative effects of
Internet use on respondents‟ sense of community. Moreover, a study by
Chen, Boase, and Wellman (2002) reports that frequent users of the Internet
have added their sense of online community to their existing sense of offline
community. And a study by Cole et al. (2000) finds that 92% of the users
connected to the Internet from home say that they spend the same amount of
33
time or more together with members of their own household. There are also a
number of studies which show that usage of the Internet increases users‟
contact with relatives and friends (e.g., Hampton and Wellman, 2000;
Haythornthwaite and Kazmer, 2002) and sometimes encourages users to
move location (e.g., Komito, 2011). Furthermore, scholars find that the social
support gained from the membership and participation in online support
communities, such as web community groups for mothers with small babies
or sick children, or those for immigrants, decrease depression and increase
the well-being for all users, the active ones as well as those who lurk (cf.
Miyata, 2002; Redecker et al., 2010). These empirical insights indicate that
usage of the Internet has a positive influence and provides online support on
health-related matters. In contrast, Nie and Erbring (2000) report that the
more time users spend online the less time they spend with family and
friends. Obviously, as described in the literature review above, the Internet
has introduced a transformation in their social interactions for all members of
society. In Section 2.3 we will discuss how the transformation of social
interaction influences the problem of the integration of immigrants.
2.3 The role of IT in social integration
For all immigrants, and especially for newcomers, finding valid information to
help them navigate through their new society is quite a difficult process (cf.
Caidi et al., 2010). Immigrants find themselves in a “culturally alien
information environment” (Mehra and Papajohn, 2007, p. 13), and in such a
situation some immigrants turn to a culturally more familiar environment,
while others attempt to gather relevant information, sometimes finding easily
accessible information on the web. Describing these new communication
practices of immigrants, practices that range from the local to the
transnational, Srinasvan and Pyati (2007) coined the term diasporic
information environment. This term reflects the fact that people are using IT to
stay in touch with close friends and to communicate with them more
frequently while on the move, away in the host country.
In the social integration process we may distinguish a two-step development.
First, the effect of IT usage has been found to enable users to generate new
ties and strengthen their old ones (Zinnbauer, 2007). The proliferation of
online social networks such as web communities enables the forming of
interest-oriented groups and the development of new ties to like-minded
people. It facilitates and accelerates social and cultural integration of newly
arrived immigrants. It provides learning and training opportunities and it
34
supports social and economic participation (Redecker et al., 2010).
Zinnbauer‟s (2007) report offers evidence which suggests that IT expands,
transforms, and diversifies social capital by providing:
(1) communication tools and collaborative information sharing;
(2) online meeting spaces; and
(3) collaborative projects.
The report acknowledges that social capital is frequently more of a bonding
than of a bridging nature (see, Bates and Komito, 2013). Online social
networks are mainly used to strengthen the ties with people from their
countries of origin, and they are less used to connect people from different
backgrounds. Accepting that IT is a tool to help integration, Zinnbauer (2007)
stresses three important issues for research and policy implications:
(1) focus on acquiring bridging social capital;
(2) making online public services more accessible for immigrants; and
(3) using IT to more easily obtain counseling, hotlines, legal frameworks,
anti-discrimination resources, civil information etc.
Regarding the second step in the social integration process, according to
Cachia et al. (2007) addressing cultural diversity through a social capital
approach delivered by IT could have a positive influence on the integration of
immigrants. Research indicates that social-support networks have an impact
on the level of social integration and social support for immigrants (see Kluzer
et al., 2008, 2011; Spotti et al., 2010). Language, as one of the essential
elements for the successful social integration of immigrants, would be easier
to acquire if IT is utilised in a constructive and fruitful way (see Ebenhofer and
Knierzinger, 2007; Spotti et al., 2010). In some communities the use of IT in
public Internet access points can help in bridging social capital and
developing relationships in the host country (cf. Diminescu et al., 2009).
According to Codagnone and Kluzer (2011) IT can have both bonding and
bridging effects. Their research shows that in many cases the reinforcement
of the sense of dignity and identity among immigrants, which is enabled by
bonding processes, is conductive to more bridging relations with members
and institutions of the host society.
Social computing has enabled governance institutions to enhance
collaboration within government agencies and interaction stakeholders,
making processes more user-centred, cost-effective, and delivering public
value to end users (see DiMaio et al., 2005; Osimo, 2008; Ala-Mutka et al.,
2009). According to Haythornthwaite (2008) it enables individuals to build
35
personal resources combined with a broad diversity of online networks and
weak ties, which in turn enables the user‟s exposure to new information,
opinions, ideas that are different from other users‟ ideas, and new
approaches for problem solving. Finally, IT plays an important role in
preparing immigrants for their move. Rainer and Siedler (2009) found that
immigrants are more likely to be employed and to hold higher paid jobs if they
are socially connected to the country of arrival prior to emigrating. In the
literature discussed in this section many scholars consider web-based
networks as social networks. Since this idea is frequently discussed in the
literature, we concentrate in the next section on web communities as social
networks.
2.4 Is a web community a social network?
The development and evolution of the web was followed by research on
users‟ web activities. A scientific debate took place regarding the question:
whether people using the Internet constituted an online community. In the
definition of social capital we included the need for a “social organisation
network” (definition 1.4), and therefore relevant questions to be answered
here are: (1) is a computer network a social network?; and (2) what are the
effects of those networks on our society? In the debates on the effects of the
web on society there are two opposite views: sceptics and enthusiasts.
Sceptics argue that relationships which are free of smell and touch cannot be
the basis for a real community. According to Elison et al. (2007) and Joinson
(2008), individuals seek to maintain and increase their online social networks.
However, scholars belong to the enthusiast group ‒ they perceive the web as
an extension and a transformation of the community (Wellman, 2001).
“When a computer network connects people, it is a social network”
(Wellman, 1997, p. 2)
The above statement is crucial to our research on the effects that the new
social networks might have on our society. In this section we will concentrate
on the important effects introduced by social networks that have been
established thanks to the usage of computers on the web.
The investment by users in online social networks enables individuals to
develop norms of trust and reciprocity that are necessary for successful
engagement in collective activities (cf. Valenzuela et al., 2009). The issue as
to whether a web community is a social network has been discussed from the
36
very emergence of the web. The seminal publications by Granovetter (1982),
Wellman (1996), and Wellman and Haythornthwaite (2002), will be used
extensively in our analysis. According to Wellman (1996, 2001) seven effects
of social networks on the web are: (1) resonance; (2) density; (3)
boundedness; (4) range; (5) exclusivity; (6) social control; and (7) strength of
relationships. We discuss them briefly in sections 2.4.1 to 2.4.7.
2.4.1 Resonance
Survey-based results present a mixed assessment of the effect of the web on
the community. Such results show that: (1) people who are online are more
involved in the online community; but also (2) online users become detached
from their families or they are depressed and detached from others. However,
results from Wellman and Haythornthwaite (2002) indicate that the web does
not destroy communities ‒ rather it resonates with the environment or, in
other words, its use is a complementary activity (Wellman, 2001). By
resonance, Wellman introduces a term that represents new online activities
which complement the old ones. Therefore, users are keeping their old ties
with family and friends, but with their web activity they have newly opened
spaces for creating new ties with people and communities of interest to them.
Furthermore, by having a web that connects users over long distances and
different time zones, users can reach other users at any time and in any
place, and thereby they erase the traditional space and time problems in
communication. However, the change that was introduced with online
communication is not only based on the changed importance of space and
time. There is also a completely new effect of making it easy to communicate
with a large number of participants within a single community and bringing
them into direct contact with members of another community. The “big ease”
that computer-mediated communication has introduced is connectivity. That
is, one can connect with a friend of a friend and through that connection
increase the density of communication in the network. Wellman presents
results of different studies where online communication helped overcome
health problems, and where social contact increased positive impacts on
overall interactions with the community. He goes further by admitting that it
was logical to expect that a system that can easily overcome time zones and
long distances will be used to interact with close friends living at a distance,
but what was unexpected is the fact that usage of the web also increased the
offline contacts of those living nearby.
37
2.4.2 Density
Online communication supports both dense bounded groups and sparse
unbounded networks (Wellman, 1997). When all participants actively
participate by reading and responding to all communications, and when they
are directly connected to each other, they are part of a dense group. Often
dense groups are mutually supportive ‒ a network is used to form “a web of
assistance” amongst some of its members. Motivations for providing
assistance are based on a reciprocity of norms, so that people who have a
strong attachment to a web-based group will more likely participate and help
others, even if the others are total strangers. This reciprocity effect in webbased groups is a valuable characteristic of web communication. This is
especially true if one considers web communities as a potential tool for
providing help to other members of that same web community. Similarly, webbased networks support participation and co-operation in sparse, unbounded
groups. Users can easily send comments, mails, messages, to anyone whose
address they know. They can send messages even to those who are outside
of their web community, and thereby expand the area of their reach.
2.4.3 Boundedness
Boundedness, according to Wellman (1996), relates to the proportion of a
network of the members‟ ties that stays within the boundaries of the social
network. Computer networks support unbounded social networks since
establishing new contacts with strangers is rather easy and maintaining
contacts with distant acquaintances is likewise easy. Granovetter (1982) calls
relationships with distant acquaintances “weak ties”. However, they are
dominant in larger, more diverse social circles and therefore they represent a
bigger potential for becoming sources of new information. Once more this
characteristic is directly connected to the idea of social capital. Unlike the
situation in classical social networks, in web-mediated networks a user can
obtain information outside of his circle by using networks that belong to “a
friend of a friend”, or even by using the network of a complete stranger. A
social process like this can even make weak ties become strong (Wellman,
1997).
2.4.4 Range
Wellman (1996) suggests that the social characteristics of the contacts within
a social network vary considerably, and that tie patterns between contacts are
somewhat complex. He uses the term “range” to describe the size and the
diversity of the population of a social network within specific boundaries, and
he characterizes a large range as comprising:
38
(1) heterogeneity in social characteristics; and
(2) complexity of the tie patterns.
In that sense, computer-mediated networks increase the range of offline
social networks and they offer the potential for more and diverse
relationships. The web-based community structure transcends physical
distance and time differences. This new way of creating and maintaining
contacts enables users to make a larger number of ties by virtue of which
they are able to maintain more face-to-face contacts (Wellman, 1997). Webbased communities also provide a space for communication in which social
and physical cues are absent, allowing those in the community to develop
relationships based on their exchanges of communications. They can later
decide whether they wish to broaden the relationship in real life.
Communication in online social networks takes place without cues of social
status, which fits perfectly with the usage of social networks in a socially
heterogeneous society. It makes possible a connection across hierarchical
and other forms of social barriers such as race, sex, age, etc. Also, it is a
solid base for establishing connections across a culturally homogenous
society because members tend to share the same concerns and goals.
2.4.5 Exclusivity
Regarding the exclusivity of Internet interactions Wellman (1997) starts his
discussion by considering traditional social networks. In such networks the
degree of control of the access between the members of the community vary
from little control and high access in dense-bounded groups, to high control
and low access in sparse-unbounded networks. Computer-mediated
networks can support both dense bounded groups and sparse unbounded
groups. Wellman argues that computer-mediated communication intensifies a
privatised and exclusive relationship (Wellman, 1997).
This new way of communication introduced a shift away from dense, bounded
groups to sparse, unbounded groups. At the same time, it supports
communications that enhance the community by catering for public
conferences as well as private exchanges. In this way, exclusivity introduces
“comfortability” by allowing the user choose the most fitting way to take
advantage of a web based network, employing it as a communication tool.
For some specific problems, finding possible solutions might come from a
public discussion within a web community. Therefore, although in some
cases, with some people, one can rely on the possibility of private (one to
39
one) communication, in some other cases such a public discussion will be
more useful, providing more results in the form of different approaches to the
problem.
2.4.6 Social control
The idea of social control (Wellman, 1997) in computer-mediated, web-based
networks opened an interesting debate. On the one hand, managers of
professional organisations fear that a free flow of information can threaten the
control of their community. This is why there are many organisations in which
system administrators monitor and allow “appropriate” usage and disallow
“inappropriate” usage (Wellman, 1997). In contrast, what is interesting and
new is the possibility of manoeuvring between different computerised
conferences, communities, or private relationships, a possibility introduced by
computer-mediated communication. One person can have many different
roles in different milieus (Wellman, 1997). One user can be a “dignified public
persona”, while at the same time the same person can be a “spammer”, a
“flamer”, or a “cyberpunk”. When a user is a member of various web
communities, none of the other members have any control over him.
Acknowledging this fact, some web communities allow anonymous
communication when they are looking for free-speaking discussions.
2.4.7 Strength of ties
As previously mentioned, the idea of weak and strong ties was introduced by
Granovetter (1982). Strong ties tend to provide more social support,
emotional aid, and help to find goods or services, because they provide good
support for feelings of belonging. However, weak ties are also useful.
Because the amount of their weakness varies they have the ability to connect
people who are somewhat socially different. Weak ties therefore provide new
sources of information as well as other resources. Even though the web
comprises many social networks with broad interests and multiple relations,
those networks are usually most suitable for supporting relationships in which
there is a shared specialised interest. Without leaving their homes or office
people can search for information much more easily than before. That kind of
search reduces the necessity for physical search and the travelling time that it
involves. Furthermore, a conversation started in one medium may continue in
a different medium and, with time, relationships established online may
become more personal – the users might meet, or their relationship might
become more intense even though it remains confined to online contact.
Probably, the majority of online ties are “intimate secondary relationships”:
40
moderately strong, informal, frequent, and supportive ties that function within
specialised domains (Wellman, 1997).
2.5 Immigrants’ social capital on the web
The concept of social capital was introduced in Chapter 1. Following the
presentation of web communities as social networks, we now discuss the
effects of web-based networks on the social capital of immigrants. Social
capital is based on social networks and is a key resource for social integration
(cf. Cachia et al., 2007). This resource makes it easier for people to work and
live together, and has been shown to play a beneficial role on the health,
education, public participation, and economic opportunities for all users. The
importance of social capital for the integration of immigrants into mainstream
society lies in its availability and in the mixture of bonding and bridging social
capital. It has been demonstrated that immigrants‟ social networks are useful
for finding accommodation and work, for providing social support, and for
helping new immigrants (see Cartwright et al., 2007; Bidet, 2009; Valenzuela
et al., 2009; Bates and Komito, 2013). In their analysis of social capital,
Portes and Landolt (2000) distinguished two motivations that cause “donors”
to provide their resources for the benefit of new immigrants:
(1) a moral obligation (parents to children, helping the poor); and
(2) solidarity with members of the same ethnic, religious, or territorial
community – bounded solidarity.
Bounded solidarity is based on values of loyalty to a particular group
expressed, for example, when helping in providing scholarships - some
financial support given to students from their own ethnic group. Bearing in
mind that bounded solidarity exists and is a motivation responsible for socialcapital actions, the discussion on social capital fits within the context of
information technologies and immigration. It is a well-known fact that the
current situation of immigrants and ethnic minorities is characterised
predominantly by low employment rates (cf. Bidet, 2009), a concentration in
specific segments of the labour market, low wages, poor working conditions,
and under-representation in senior positions in the workplace (Rudiger and
Spencer, 2003). Socio-economic data for employment, education, health, and
housing in immigrant populations indicate that an equal and proportional
inclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities has not yet been achieved in
vital spheres of life (cf. Dumont and Lemaitre, 2005). The present situation in
Europe is not getting any better; rather it is getting worse by bringing more
polarisation and scepticism into the host society by way of discrimination,
41
racism, and xenophobia (see Buonfino et al., 2007; Cachia et al., 2007; Bidet,
2009; Abdelhady, 2011; Hainmueller and Hangartner, 2013). However, one of
the main characteristics of being an immigrant is that, after their arrival, the
immigrant has very little or no connection with the host society. They have
less access to new social capital, a fact that strongly influences their future.
“Where you live and whom you know – the social capital you can
draw on – helps to define who you are and thus to determine your
fate” (Putnam, 1993, p. 7).
The significance of social capital is stressed in various studies (e.g., Cachia
et al., 2007; Valenzuela et al., 2009; Cartwright et al., 2008; Bidet, 2009)
where the authors suggest clear and positive links between social capital and
the improvement of economic productivity, community development, and
even social inclusion. After their arrival immigrants face many challenges,
ranging from problems in finding housing to establishing careers or looking for
social support when having just recently changed their social networks.
According to Bidet et al. (2009), there is a clear relationship between a low
level of social capital and poor work integration, while the acquisition of
greater social capital appears to be essential to successful social and
economic integration. This is where web communities are useful in providing
new forms of social networking and knowledge sharing. They have the
potential to build and transform social networks across the boundaries of
space and time, and they provide users with new contacts, thereby enhancing
their social capital possibilities (cf. Anthias, 2007; Drever and Hoffmeister,
2008; Waters and Leung, 2012). In contrast, the perspective of the welcoming
societies is no less dramatic. One of the most important challenges faced by
modern societies, and at the same time one of their greatest opportunities, is
the increase in ethnic and social heterogeneity. This trend requires a
broadening of perspectives and accepting that
“social capital is not a substitute for effective public policy but rather a
prerequisite for it and, in part, a consequence of it” (Putnam, 1993, p.
10).
In situations where immigrants are disconnected from their host society and
belong to a community of some kind, they are dependent on the ties they
maintain.
42
“The more local bridges in a community and the greater their degree,
the more cohesive the community and more capable of acting in
concert” (Granovetter, 1973, p .18)
In the same way as an immigrant‟s integration is dependent, amongst many
other factors, on how many ties they have, the immigrant maintains various
dimensions of ties. Speaking of strong and weak ties, Granovetter mentions
that
“bridging weak ties, since they do link different groups, are far more
likely than other weak ties to connect individuals who are significantly
different from one another.” (Granovetter, 1983, p. 4)
One of these dimensions is “incidence”, which includes two separate
characteristics: frequency and intensity. Frequency relates to the number of
ties an individual immigrant or a group of immigrants maintains with their
surroundings, as well as to the number of ties with others (outside of their
surroundings). Intensity relates to the nature of these contacts, and therefore
to feelings of belonging and familiarity. Actually, frequent and intense
contacts by immigrants with others in their host society may lead to a better
mutual understanding and, ultimately, to a stronger identification with one
another. In contrast, if people do not identify with other groups in the society
of which they may all be part, they are unlikely to develop frequent and
intense ties with individual members of those groups (cf. Entzinger and
Biezeveld, 2003; Klvanova, 2009).
Being without networks creates a state of isolation and can lead to a lack of
information (see Koser and Pinkerton, 2002), a low level of power within
society, and little potential for influence. In contrast, an increase in the level of
social capital involves
“features of social life – networks, norms and trust – that enable
participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared
objectives” (Putnam, 2000, p. 19)
The fact that when participants in a social network are together they act more
effectively in pursuing shared objectives, has benefits for all actors in the
immigrant integration process. In order to be integrated and more satisfied,
immigrants must be connected to their host society (cf. Anthias, 2007; Drever
and Hoffmeister, 2008; Lancee, 2010). In general increased immigration is
43
not only inevitable, but over the long term it is desirable because it raises
creativity, introduces rapid economic growth, helps in balancing the economic
effects of the retirement of the baby-boom generation, and it enhances the
development of the countries of origin by enabling the immigrant to send
money back to their family in their home country. However, in the meantime,
in the short term, immigration and ethnic diversity challenge social solidarity
and inhibit the creation of social capital.
According to some scholars (e.g., Anthias, 2007; Cachia et al., 2007;
Cartwright et al., 2008; Curley, 2010; Drever and Hoffmeister, 2008;
Kobayashi et al., 2006; Lancee, 2010; Zinnbauer, 2007), social capital plays a
crucial role in the integration of immigrants, providing a sense of belonging
and identity as well as practical support. Acquiring links with local social
capital comes from the power of weak ties, which are important because of
their capacity to create bridges between different groups (see Granovetter,
1983). Furthermore, in their analysis of the Salvadoran immigrant community
Comites, Portes and Langolt (2000) discuss the many broad social networks
created between immigrants who supported and institutionalised cultural,
economic, and political ties with their country of origin. They argue that these
social networks promoted trust, solidarity, and reciprocity between the
members of the networks, which in turn led to their mutual co-operation.
These authors arrive at a concrete conclusion, arguing that the role of social
capital is not to substitute a material infrastructure, the resources or the
corresponding education, but to increase these resources by supporting them
with the voluntary actions of participants. Web-based networks clearly play a
prominent role, not only in linking immigrants to the job market but also in
helping them climb up the employment ladder (cf. Drever and Hoffmeister,
2008; Van Hoye et al., 2009). Cachia et al. (2007) report claims that social
computing, i.e. the engagement in web communities, is of particular interest
because of:
(1) being a new means of self-expression and identity;
(2) being a media channel for user empowerment;
(3) strengthening and expanding online relations;
(4) enabling reciprocity exchanges;
(5) enabling the sharing of content;
(6) supporting collaboration;
(7) sustaining attachment;
(8) enabling employment opportunities; and
(9) leveraging for social participation and civic engagement.
44
Accordingly, the Lancee (2010) results indicate that bonding networks do not
affect economic outcomes, and that bridging networks are positively
associated with both employment and income. Bearing in mind the effects of
social computing on immigration, in the next section we will more deeply
explore the effects that modern trends impose on migration.
2.6 How modern trends influence migration
By using web services, immigrants create and maintain a social life in more
than one society. According to Glick Schiller et al. (2006), immigrants are
regarded as transmigrants when they develop and maintain multiple
relationships that span the borders of the nation state. Interconnected and
fragmented social and political experiences, activities that spread across
national boundaries, constitute the single field of social relations. In order to
describe this social experience the terms transnationalism and transnational
social field began to be used in scientific debates (Basch et al., 1994). This
new social transition from immigrant to migrant introduced at least six
different dimensions of migrant transnationalism (Vertovec, 1999).
(1) Social morphology – dealing with a kind of social formation that
crosses national borders. Transnational networks are systems of
relationships that span across different spaces simultaneously and
enable the creation of forms of solidarity and identity beyond the
traditional public sphere. In these ways Vertovec argues that the old
dispersed diasporas transform into today‟s (1999) transnational
communities.
(2) Types of consciousness – migrants are simultaneously “here and
there”, “home and away from home” or “in between”. According to
Glick Schiller et al. (1992), the majority of migrants maintain several
identities that link them to several nations at the same time.
(3) Mode of cultural reproduction – transnationalism is often linked to a
fluidity of styles of immigrant behaviour, no matter whether it is
behaviour in social institutions or in everyday practices.
(4) Movement of capital - capital moves through new channels such as
transnational corporations and migrant communities. The importance
of immigrant remittances to their country of origin is so great in some
countries that those countries depend completely on monetary
transfers from their nationals who are living abroad.
(5) Sites of political engagement – transnationalism introduced a
transnational framework, a global public space, as the only space
where both global and local questions can be debated.
45
(6) Changes in the notion of space ‒ transnational life permits
immigrants to be in contact with friends and family in many different
places, so their lives and their knowledge are created simultaneously
in different places.
The rapid evolution and proliferation of IT introduced a revolution in the
information era and helped the transnational maintenance of relationships
and interests (Vertovec, 2001). Vertovec introduced the subject of the lives of
migrants in “transnational communities”, suggesting that transnationalism
would become another subject for debate in the field of migration. On the one
hand, there is a view that because of transnational ties amongst immigrants
they are not integrating as well as they might in their new host societies. In
contrast, there is a view that the transnational life of immigrants is enhancing
democracy by the open recognition of an immigrant‟s multiple identities.
Vertovec (2001) argues that transnational migrant communities introduced
new concerns that affect “homeland politics”, which he describes using terms
such as “long-distance nationalism”, “deterritorialised nations”, and the
“globalisation of domestic politics”. Technology supported easier and cheaper
means of communication the transfer of money, and introduced the growth of
immigrant groups built around particular political standpoints. Thus
immigrants developed considerable remote influence in the politics of their
countries of origin.
According to Komito (2011), discussions of changing communication patterns
and the Internet tend to focus on two issues:
(1) easier migration due to extended social ties; and
(2) the increased individual ability to participate in the culture and politics
of the country of origin (through web-based communities).
New web-based social media applications support both processes. As
immigration is on the rise, immigrants and their positions in new societies
become politicised and right-wing anti-immigration politics gains momentum
(Collins, 2011). Immigrant identity and belonging, especially insofar as
Muslim immigrant communities are concerned, became central subjects of
political and academic debates. The inability to reply successfully to
contemporary immigration challenges consequently led to the proclaiming of
the failure of multiculturalism in the UK by Prime Minister Cameron, similarly
in Germany by Chancellor Merkel (cf. Collins, 2011; Kymlica, 2012). The
optimistic sounding term multiculturalism, meaning the promotion of tolerance
and respect for group identities ‒ particularly of immigrants and ethnic
46
minorities ‒ suffered from somewhat vocal criticism and antagonism
(Kymlica, 2012).
The lack of a theoretical framework and a political approach towards the
diverse contemporary society led to the return of the concept of
cosmopolitanism to “save the day” (Collins, 2011, p.2). Vertovec and Cohen
(2002) stated that there are several prominent processes and conditions
responsible for bringing back cosmopolitanism into the debate: globalisation,
nationalism, migration, multiculturalism, and feminism. According to these
authors, cosmopolitanism offers a mode of managing cultural and political
multiplicities, which simultaneously:
(1) transcends the exhausted nation state model;
(2) mediates actions and ideals tuned to the universal and the particular,
the global and the local;
(3) is culturally anti-essentialist; and
(4) gives representations of allegiance, identity and interest.
There already exists a longstanding debate amongst those scholars who
have attempted to discover the core meaning of “cosmopolitanism” in
migration theory. Vertovec and Cohen (2002) quote Delanty (2000) whose
discussion of the vagueness of cosmopolitanism states that it is far from clear
what exactly it means to be a post-national cosmopolitan, specifically having
in mind that the new media of communication and consumption made
everybody cosmopolitan. Hannerz‟s (1990) argument is employed to make
the distinction between true cosmopolitans and globally mobile people. For
Hannerz a “true” cosmopolitan is culturally open and interested in continuous
engagement with one or another cosmopolitan project. Debating the topics:
(1) to what extent cosmopolitanism exists; and (2) to what extent it is only
available to the elite, is called either a “true” or a “false” cosmopolitan debate.
In the beginning of the 2000s there was an increased awareness that
cosmopolitanism actually exists amongst a wide variety of non-elites,
especially migrants and refugees. Vertovec and Cohen (2002) argue in favour
of new ways of behaving, naming such a form of behaviour “everyday
cosmopolitanism”. This approach emphasizes positive socio-cultural and
political transformations of meaning (Vertovec and Cohen, 2002). Finally,
they argue that cosmopolitanism can be viewed as a:
(1) socio-cultural condition;
(2) sort of world-view philosophy;
(3) political orientation towards building transnational institutions;
(4) political orientation for recognising multiple identities;
47
(5) general orientation of attitude; and
(6) mode of practice.
As we examined the debates on transnational and cosmopolitan
communities, we identified a contrast, a form of tension, between the
scientific rhetoric and the reality of such communities. On the one hand, these
terms intuitively suggest positive outcomes, such as in transnational versus
national, as follows:
(1) transnationalism means that the immigrant can profit from being
present in several geographic locations – one presence in the host
society, one in the country of origin, and perhaps even a third
possibility when profiting from the experiences of other people who
live all over the world;
(2) cosmopolitan means being familiar with and at ease in many different
countries and cultures (Oxford Dictionaries,
http://oxforddictionaries.com).
In contrast we see an ambiguous situation, with the prevailing question: What
benefits do we see for immigrants in these superficially optimistic terms? In
answering this question we first see that the new type of social existence ‒
being present in several geographically distant places simultaneously ‒
introduces the interesting perception of being a double absent immigrant
(Sayad, 2004) who has a problem in dealing with locality (Appadurai, 1995).
In addition, a simultaneous existence supports the idea, introduced by
Diminescu (2008), of being a connected migrant. So far the literature
indicates that the new emerging trends are:
(1) web-based transnational communication;
(2) the exchange of information;
(3) cheap flights (Vertovec, 2010).
These three new trends have resulted in an increase in the probability of
immigrants making repeated moves to different countries or between the
same countries. This is known as the self-perpetuating nature of migration.
The more immigrants move, the more they learn about immigration, creating
knowledge which is known as migration-specific capital. The more they have
of that capital, the less risk they face in subsequent moves. These factors
facilitate circular migration (Vertovec, 2007) which comes from two different
effects of social migration. One effect is that social capital is negatively
correlated with the probability of taking an additional long-distance trip, but it
helps in making short distance trips. The other effect is that both weak and
48
strong ties, contacts and acquaintanceships with friends, have positive effects
on planning additional trips that reduce the cost of migration (Massey and
Aysa-Lastra, 2011). Finally, instead of producing positive results for
immigrants, circular migration tends to keep immigrants in low levels of
employment such as agriculture. Whatever the case, whether social capital is
good for immigrants because it reduces the cost of additional migration trips,
or whether it is bad for immigrants because a consequence of being a circular
migrant is that the immigrant remains at low levels within society, we can now
at least be clear that web-based social media has a role to play in the process
of immigration. How immigrants function while they simultaneously live their
online and offline lives, is the main point of interest in the discussion in
section 2.7.
2.7 Online and offline synergies
Technologically mediated communication is already incorporated in many
aspects of everyday life (see Mann and Stewart, 2000; Clegg Smith, 2004).
The clear distinction between online and offline worlds is becoming less
useful, if at all possible, since the two are becoming increasingly merged in
our society. Both spaces interact with each other and transform each other
(cf. Haythornthwaite and Kazmer, 2002). According to Komito (2011), social
media also reinforce strong ties (cf. Lenhart & Madden, 2007; Lenhart et al.,
2010). The data from the Lenhart and Madden, and Lenhart et al. interviews
suggest that immigrants combine all means of electronic communication
(social networks, webcams, text messaging) in order to experience a kind of
participation in their friends‟ lives. Social media support relationships of all
types, whether they are based on strong or weak ties, or somewhere in
between. Our friends and relatives with whom we maintain close social ties
are often not physically close. These ties are spread all over the world and
most people do not live their lives bounded in only one community. Rather,
they live a glocalised life: a life where a person is involved both in local and
long-distance relationships (see Robertson, 1995; Hampton and Wellman,
2003; Wellman et al., 2003). Existing connections are to people rather than to
places, and technology has shifted our lives from linking people in places to
linking people at any place. The person has become the portal (Castells,
2000). The technological development of computer communication networks
and the vivid life on social networks provide “networked individualism”, a term
coined by Castells to conceptualize (for social scientists) web users and their
connections. People are connected to each other as individuals, and
49
individuals switch rapidly between their social networks. This is how
networked individualism is created.
Based on the research by Haythornthwaite (2005) and her latent ties “that are
technically possible but not activated socially” (p.137), Ellison et al., (2007)
suggest that a web-community activity makes it easier to convert latent ties
into weak ties. These weak ties (again by definition) may provide additional
information and opportunities which are expressed as dimensions of bridging
social capital, dimensions that speak of interaction with a wide range of
people and a more tolerant perspective. Because of these benefits they also
suggest that using a web community such as Facebook is related to having a
high level of self-esteem, a feeling of well-being. At the same time they found
that the (Facebook) web community is not so useful for social bonding. Since
a significant percentage of web-community usage (22%) is invested in
bonding social capital, it is clearly an important activity, while even more
(46%) of the use is dedicated to bridging social capital. According to Cachia
et al. (2007), web-based communities appear to amplify the bonding effect
which tends to diminish over time, while Maya-Jariego et al. (2009) claim that
web-based communities are quite important for inter-cultural mediation.
The research presented in this thesis explores how the Internet fits in with the
complexity of everyday life for immigrants. Going from online back to offline,
the research aims to understand the impact and consequences of an
immigrant‟s online activity on their “real” life. In the next section we discuss
the process of online influences on the offline lives of immigrants.
2.8 The effects of online influences on the offline lives of
immigrants
When speaking about online and offline practices, and how online activities
affect offline life, we repeatedly face the question of separation between
these two realms. According to Vertovec (2003), communication brought
about by digital media, internet-mediated communication, and online
practices, can not be separated from offline practices. Certainly, as is
demonstrated in the literature, intensive online socialisation enhances the
close range of real life contacts and ties (Wellman, 2001; Wellman and
Haythornthwaite, 2002). For Silverstone (2003) too, new technologies are
appropriated into everyday ways of living and being. He argues that new
information and communication technologies take place alongside the
traditional ones. Thus, for Silverstone, the actual process of social
50
engagement with new technologies is evolutionary. In his conclusions
Silverstone (2003) argues that the relationship between everyday life online
and offline is tight, and the boundary almost non-existent, thereby putting new
media and communication technologies in the very centre of the daily
routines of mobile individuals. Here we see a useful shift from the notion that
online and offline practices are separated realms.
According to Kluzer et al. (2007), immigrants‟ usage of IT is a prerequisite for
starting a useful dialogue with the host society. Chen and Choi (2011)
observed that online support has a conspicuous effect on immigrants
especially when they are newly arrived and lack social capital in their new
lives. Their research suggests that the motivation for using the web is that
immigrants expect it to have a positive effect on their socio-cultural and
psychological adaptation. Newly arrived immigrants also use the web, or
more precisely web communities, as a tool for switching between their
multiple identities (Lazzari, 2011; Oirzabal and Reips, 2012). The web is
characterized as being easy to use and therefore an effective tool for
increasing knowledge about health matters and for decreasing the personal
stigma of sick immigrants (cf. Kiropoulos et al., 2011). Extensive work has
been performed in the field of web community usage for the purpose of
helping prospective immigrants to prepare for their move to their new host
country, as well as for the maintenance of diaspora communities and family
ties, facilitating adaptation, creating new formal and informal relationships
with local people, and interaction with bridging social capital (cf. Lazzari,
2012; Chen et al., 2012; Oirzabal and Reips, 2012). 79% of workers in the
study by Ala-Mutka (2010) reported that they use web-based social networks
for work-related reasons. The positive effect of web-based networks on job
seekers is also confirmed in Van Hoye et al. (2009), where those whose
social networks consist of weaker and higher-status ties are better placed to
find a job. Komito (2011) indicates that job-related activities are among the
main reasons why immigrants use IT. Her research on Ethiopian refugees in
the UK supports the idea of IT as a rich resource, a helping resource for
migrants. Even older immigrants use the web for support in managing their
health problems, their professional interests, for maintaining or extending
social networks, and for staying connected with their background culture or
leisure activities. The importance of the role that the web plays in the lives of
older immigrants is best described by the title of the Khvorostianov et al.
(2012) paper: “Without it I am nothing”. This study suggests that Internet
usage improves an immigrant‟s quality of life, and thus the Internet becomes
a useful tool for following an appropriate strategy of successful ageing.
51
The web is a medium that has excellent potential for channelling the actions
of a large number of individuals into something larger, such as a new place
for the emergence of politics (cf. Lindgren and Lundström, 2011).
Accordingly, immigrants use the web for political purposes and for raising
their voices. They use a bottom-up approach by building new cyber spaces
for their own participation (Spaiser, 2012). The web is a space where social
networks can mobilise an online movement and transfer it offline (Harlow,
2012). Therefore web usage presents an opportunity for reshaping the status
of contemporary immigration. Social computing also offers opportunities for
governance: citizen empowerment, data availability, access to resources,
multiplication of network capacities, and the exchange of information and
knowledge (see Ala-Mutka et al., 2009). In this way social computing offers
solutions to problems that are performed online but which have an effect
offline. One effect of this transition from online to offline is that it offers a new
model for “collective problem solving”. For example, if a particular group of
women are being discriminated against for some reason they could create an
online group and then, as a group, they could approach an appropriate
government or local authority to request help with their problem. Thus their
online activity can help them in their offline lives.
Social computing also impacts important collective values such as trust,
authority, reputation, self-regulation, and control. IT provides new spaces for
self-expression, community organisation, and a space for a struggle of
marginalised migrants, without being exclusively used only by highly qualified
migrants (Georgiu, 2002). Also, Scopsi‟s research (2009) investigates the
way in which IT has changed immigrant life. For Scopsi, IT influences
changes in the lives of migrants, their perception of space, and their
relationships with their country of origin. While Scopsi focussed more on the
effects of strong ties, Massey and Aysa-Lastra (2011) identified the significant
influence of both weak and strong ties on immigrants and their future
migration. Therefore, we may conclude that the literature has identified both
weak and strong ties as being important in the lives of immigrants.
In summary, the web introduced a major difference in the immigrant
experience by affecting preparation, flow, social inclusion, social capital,
identity, participation, and visibility. Thus, the impact of IT on immigration
became undeniable. Apparently, many immigrants are using the web driven
by different motivations. However, they all use the web as a medium that
provides new solutions to some of the traditional immigrant problems.
52
We may further conclude that the literature on online and offline synergies
and social capital has established that IT has changed the lives of migrants
considerably. For better or for worse, immigrants are present in several
realities introduced to them by living in transnational migrant communities.
They live in a so-called transnational space. They have an everyday
cosmopolitan lifestyle and are continually switching between multiple
identities enabled by online life, participating here and there. Still, wondering
to what extent these positive terms reflect the real feeling that immigrants
might have about the effects which IT has on their lives, we conducted a field
study. We found the basis for the field work in this literature review. Following
Putnam, Granovetter, Norris, Wellman, Haythornthwaite, Li, Lancee, AlaMutka, we have examined the world of immigration on the web in order to
understand to what extent web communities can help the social integration of
immigrants. Our analysis of immigrants‟ preferences and online behaviours
begins in Chapter 3, where we will investigate web communities among all
the identified web spaces used by immigrants.
53
54
3 The motivation of immigrants for using the web
The influence of web usage on immigration has attracted an increased level
of attention in recent scientific studies of the general influence of IT on
immigration. The interest of researchers ranges from analysing the web as a
tool (cf. RQ1) to the various ways in which web usage can help and elevate
the quality of life for immigrants (cf. RQ2). The effects of this usage (cf. RQ3),
is the main stepping stone to enable us to answer the PS. In this chapter we
address RQ1: What is the motivation behind the immigrants‟ usage of the
web?
To understand the various motivational factors for using the web, we first
identified web spaces in the field of immigration and classified them. Since
the main interest of our research is to investigate how the usage of web
communities influences social capital acquisition (see subsection 1.6), during
the classification process we separated web sites from web communities. The
growing popularity of web communities has introduced a need for consensus
in the scientific world regarding the term “web community” and the most
appropriate scheme of classification. Our discussion on the most suitable
term for this particular research started in subsection 1.5.2. It ended in the
formulation of two definitions, those for “web community”, and “web space”.
The present chapter presents a classification of collected web spaces, aiming
to identify a set of the most important parameters behind the motivation for
using the web. The empirical research cited is based on a number of these
parameters. Moreover, the literature shows many attempts to make a
classification of web spaces. The proposed classifications vary considerably
for different reasons. The researchers involved tend to categorise their
observations in their own way, i.e. to create a classification based on
parameters that are of prime importance to their own research (see
Armstrong and Hagel, 1995; Burnett, 2000; Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000;
Stanoevska-Slabeva and Schmid, 2001; Dube et al., 2006). In the early days
of web spaces, scholars offered classifications that were more general. Later,
due to the proliferation of web spaces, the approach changed as the
motivation, usage, and structure of the web spaces evolved.
In this chapter, we introduce the field of research (section 3.1) and describe
the analytical approach used for further analysis (section 3.2). In section 3.3,
we introduce the research restrictions. Further, in section 3.4 we present
some example sets of parameters that were used as a basis for introducing a
55
range of different classifications. Here we mention seven parameters: (1)
supporting communication technology; (2) consumer needs; (3) users‟ needs;
(4) information exchange process; (5) relationships; (6) location of interaction;
and (7) the strength of social ties. In section 3.5, we analyse how the web has
been used in relation to immigration problems as faced by the Serbian
diaspora. Similarly, we analyse the web life of Swedish immigrants (section
3.6). And in section 3.7 we offer an interpretation of our findings and use it to
compare these two analyses. In section 3.8 we provide an answer to RQ1.
3.1 The research field
In our empirical study we have followed two different groups of immigrants on
the web. First, we have focussed on a group of immigrants who are presently
worldwide - the case of Serbian diaspora. And secondly we have focussed on
all immigrants who have made Sweden their host country. This bidirectional
approach is used in order to answer RQ1, to identify the motivations for the
web usage of the two groups, and to establish the difference if any between
the two cases. Moreover, we aim to identify the links behind the users‟
motivations, the ownership of the web spaces and the reach of these spaces.
Further, we analyse the dynamics behind the web spaces, specifically
targeting web communities amongst them in order to understand to what
extent web communities play an important role for immigrants. Our selection
of these particular web spaces is also motivated by the PS. Thus, we analyse
the behaviour of immigrants who use the web to maintain contacts among
their own national group - bonding social capital activities, and compare them
with those immigrants who use the web to make contact with new people
outside of their own national community - bridging social capital activities.
This analysis will presumably give more information on the immigrants‟
acquisition of social capital.
The Serbian diaspora was chosen as a subject of analysis for the following
two reasons. First, after the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia, during the
1990s, approximately 5 million people had to resettle, and 700,000 of them
emigrated to Western Europe (see Malacic, 2002). Many of those were
Serbian, and therefore had similar social, cultural, and ideological
backgrounds. Following Norris‟s (2002) definition, they represent a group of
people that will have bonding social capital activities. Second, the majority of
immigrants from the former Yugoslavia have settled in the more developed
countries of the Western world, and therefore have enjoyed good access to IT
and in particular to web services.
56
The immigrants who selected Sweden as their host country were chosen for
the following four reasons. First, in many countries, Sweden stands as a
brand name for a socially successful laboratory and a model of a welfare
state, with pragmatic social solutions (cf. Runblom, 1994) and with a
respectful treatment of the concerns of immigrants (cf. Ålund and Schierup,
1991). After WWII, Sweden swiftly moved from the “Swedishisation” model of
cultural and ethnic assimilation for its immigrants, to a multicultural model that
officially allows, and even expects and invites, cultural diversity. Moreover,
during the 1990s the Swedish multicultural integration model (mångkulturellt
samhälle) had a positive connotation (Runblom, 1994). The literature shows
that in 2005 Swedish immigration amounted to 11% of the population, while
25% of the population had at least one foreign-born parent (cf. Hammarstedt
and Palme, 2006). This 11% increased to 14.3% of the population in the 2010
Eurostatistics (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu).
Second, according to Statistics Sweden (Statistiska Centralbyrån, 2005), the
number of users of the Internet among persons aged 16-74 was 78% in 2005.
In 2011, 88% of the population over the age of 12 had access to the Internet
and 85% had access to broadband at home (cf. Findahl, 2010).
Third, having a high percentage of immigrants from all over the world in a
technologically highly developed country is an excellent precondition for the
analysis of their usage of existing web services.
The fourth reason is that, by having a different social and cultural
background, the immigrants who chose Sweden as their host country
represent a group with bridging social capital activities (cf. Norris, 2002).
3.2 Analytical approach
For our empirical analysis we adopted a multi-layered approach using: (1)
location; (2) classification; and (3) technological analyses as mentioned
earlier in subsection 1.7.4.
3.2.1 Location
The first goal of the analysis is to locate as many web spaces of interest as
possible. That task was carried out during the period 1 August 2009 to 1
November 2009. The reason for gathering a maximally available set of web
spaces lies in the expectation that a larger sample will give more information
57
and a better result. The Google search engine was employed to locate web
spaces in the context of immigration. Having in mind that the research target
is the Serbian diaspora, the most appropriate keywords for a search are:
Serbian immigration, Serbian diaspora, Serbian associations, and other
similar phrases. All these phrases were searched both in the Serbo-Croatian
and the English language. After gathering the first list of web spaces it was
necessary to perform a validity check that would discard those that did not
predominantly address the problem of immigration. The list of web spaces
which are the subject of our analysis is given in Appendix A.
In the case of Swedish immigration the approach was similar, but of course
with a clear difference concerning the search terms used: Swedish
immigration, invandrare (immigrant), svenska invandring (Swedish
immigration), invandrare förening (immigrant association), and similar
phrases, all of which were searched both in the Swedish and English
languages. In this case too, a validity check was performed and some of the
web addresses were discarded when they did not predominantly address the
problem of immigration. The list of all identified web spaces, the subject of our
analysis, is given in Appendix B.
The research process required that we had to revisit all of the identified web
spaces several times. Although this kind of repetitive check was not planned
a priori, it resulted in an additional level of quality in our results since the
analysis is of a ”living system”. The information which an observer could
garner today might be different from what he3 would discover tomorrow.
Therefore it was necessary to observe certain phenomena over a reasonable
period of time. In the course of this chapter we present the dynamics of the
identified web spaces over a period of 3 months, as indicated above.
3.2.2 Classification
The second goal of our analysis is to identify different classes of the selected
web spaces. The main classification takes place according to the users‟ and
the owners‟ motivations. The idea is to identify and classify web communities.
We treat the principal topic of interest of a particular web space, as expressed
on the web space itself, as the driving motivation for the existence and usage
of that web space. Our identification of the web communities in the context of
immigration is based on using many different lists of web spaces that have
been identified as being relevant to an immigrant‟s activities. The distinction
3
For brevity, we use “he” and “his” wherever “he or she” and “his or her” are meant.
58
between web sites and web communities is made by using definition 1.3
(section 1.2) and definition 1.11 (subsection 1.5.2). Accordingly, a web
community emphasises how a web relationship is initiated and how the
dialogue between its partners takes place (Boyd, 2008). Therefore, during the
process of differentiation we searched for the web spaces that permit linkage
and dialogue between the members of a web-based community.
In order to be able to derive useful conclusions about the way in which
immigrants‟ web spaces function, it is necessary to understand: (1) what are
the relationships between the various identified web spaces and what is
happening in these web spaces; (2) what are the rules that must be obeyed
by the users of these web spaces?; and (3) what are the predominant
parameters that drive the activities in a given set of web spaces? Based on
these three questions our classification of web spaces took place at three
levels.
Level 1: The ownership of the identified web space.
The whole set of immigrants is divided into two sets: (1) an organisationsponsored subset of immigrants; and (2) a member-initiated subset of
immigrants. This division describes two sets of people who are organised
and financed in different ways. Observing the impact of these two
different subsets signals the importance of financing a particular web
space.
Level 2: The relation toward profit.
We distinguish between: (3) profit acquisition; and (4) non-profit
acquisition. A focus on whether or not web spaces create economic gain
allows us to describe the way the immigration problem is treated.
Level 3: The motivation of keeping the existing web space as it is (i.e.,
the main interest).
This describes a specific focus among the users of the space.
3.2.3 Technological analysis
Our technological analysis has been performed with the use of the free
analytical web tool ALEXA (alexa.com). ALEXA is a free web-metric tool, based
on a web crawl and the analytical infrastructure that processes a massive
59
amount of data. The system offers different types of data on an analysed web
space, such as traffic statistics, search analytics, users‟ demography,
reviews, and trends. The categorisation produced by the reach parameter is
performed according to: (a) the percentage of global Internet users who have
visited a particular observed web space (3 month average); and (b) any
change in the trend in traffic (3 month change). In other words, we analysed:
(i) the visit; and (ii) the traffic, of a particular web space, in order to identify the
web spaces that attract most of the attention from users.
3.3 Research restrictions
In this section we discuss three issues on which it was necessary to make
certain decisions in order to execute our research, viz.: (A) the participating
immigrants; (B) the choice of the group to be investigated; and (C) the
procedure to be followed with respect to location, classification, and
technology analysis. As mentioned in section 1.2 and subsection 1.5.2, we
employ the term “web communities” for groups of individuals that interact on
the web.
(A) The participating immigrants
The aim of this research is to analyse the influence of the immigrants‟
web community activities on the acquisition of their social capital. To be
more precise, and as previously stated in the problem statement (see
section 1.6), we are analysing to what extent immigrants acquire social
capital by using specific web communities. Therefore this study is, by
definition of its PS, limited to those immigrants who belong to web
communities.
(B) The choice of group to be investigated
It is important to bear in mind that when we speak of social capital we are
referring to two different types of relationships between people ‒ bonding
and bridging (see subsection1.5.3). In our study we had to follow both
groups, whose members participated in the web-based communities. In
order to investigate bonding and bridging social capital on the web, we
narrowed down the research to two different contexts: (1) a web
community of people with the same or a similar background as an
example of a bonding group; and (2) a web community of people with
different backgrounds as an example of a bridging group. In this chapter,
60
we will further elaborate on this context and provide considerations for a
balanced selection among the web communities.
(C) The procedure to be followed
In order to execute this research, many factors could have been taken
into consideration and many methods could have been chosen, but our
research has been restricted by the fact that we analyse usage, by
immigrants, of the web communities. In order to obtain more insights into
that usage we practise the following four methods with respect to
immigrant web sites and web communities: (a) identify; (b) list; (c)
measure; and (d) rank their presence. After identifying and listing them
we will investigate them based on three factors: (1) location; (2)
classification; and (3) technology. We chose these factors for the
following reasons.
(1) Location – A “web space” can be a web site, providing static
information without any communication between users, or a web
community, which is a dynamic environment where users may
exchange information and conduct dialogue with each other. The
term “location” means identifying the web communities (see definition
1.3) among all identified web spaces, in order to determine to what
extent the web is used as a social network generator (i.e., a space for
interaction and dialogue between users). Each web community is a
web-based service that allows its users to construct a profile within its
system, and provides tools to enable its users to connect and
communicate with other users. A web community emphasises the
relationship between initiation and dialog (cf. Boyd, 2006).
(2) Classification – We performed our classification by examining
categories in two levels: (1) establishment; and (2) relationship
orientation, starting with Porter‟s (2004) model. Further, we divided
the observed set of web spaces with respect to the following two
variables: (a) ownership – in order to answer to what extent money
influences the creation of the healthy life of a successful web space;
and (b) main interest – to answer for which purposes immigrants use
the web.
61
(3) Technology – in order to be able to understand the importance of the
dynamics created by web spaces, the collected set of web spaces
are analysed with respect to two features: (a) reach; and (b) traffic.
(a) Reach – This is another of Porter‟s (2004) ideas, renamed by us
from Porter‟s original term “population”. Reach refers to the
number of users, and the number of interactions among
members. This variable will determine the impact that a particular
web space exerts. We note that having a public presence –
publishing something on the web – is completely different from
the impact that a web space may have. It is one thing to have a
web site, but quite another thing to publish content that will reach
and attract a wide audience of users.
(b) Traffic – The analysis of traffic is a continuation of our analysis of
visits. Identifying the difference in traffic creates more data on the
intensity of the interaction. By analysing traffic we will be able to
understand how successful is a particular solution ‒ a positive
trend means more people and more interactions, while the
identification of the trend in a certain period of time might show
important directions for design recommendations.
Since the scientific literature describes many attempts towards a proper
classification of web spaces, we decided to elaborate on the issue of
classification. In our opinion such an elaboration is not necessary for the
other two issues: location and technological analysis. Thus, in the next
section we review some of the most representative classifications from the
literature. Then, in sections 3.5 and 3.6 we present the results of procedure
(C) performed on the case of the Serbian diaspora (section 3.5) and on
Swedish immigration (section 3.6).
3.4 Classification
Our classification research is executed on web spaces with special attention
to web communities. This research regards a web community as a kind of a
web space. The research will be performed as follows. We commence with a
review of the literature on the classification of web communities, in order to
identify the best fitting model to start our research. Then, for all the web
spaces collected, we will distill the class of web communities and then
classify them. We thus follow the process for methodological reasons. In
62
brief, there are two types of web spaces, viz. one type containing web
communities and one type containing web sites. We collect from the Internet
all web spaces that are relevant for our research topic, and then we distill
from that collection the class of web communities and analyse the
immigrants‟ interactions within that class.
The impact and evolution of web communities can be perceived from many
different perspectives. For this research the perspective of the technical
reality of the medium itself is quite important. When examining the influences
of web spaces we must be careful not to overlook the fact that technology
and society are mutually involved in their construction. In the early days of
web spaces they were perceived as technosocial constructs that evolved
owing to a successful coupling of technical and social systems, to the extent
that the two became inseparable (see Ito et al., 1998). The term
“technosocial” is borrowed here from Ito et al. and from other examples of
technoscience studies (e.g., Latour, 1987).
As stated above, there are many examples in the literature of the
classification of web communities. Below we present ten examples of our
classification. We have created Tables 3.1 to 3.4, based on various specific
studies, in order to make the comparison between the different types of
classification in the literature more insightful.
Examples 1 and 2
A classification of web communities based on consumer needs was already
presented in the 1990s by Armstrong and Hagel (1995). They distinguished
four classes: (1) transaction; (2) interest; (3) fantasy; and (4) relationships.
Subsequently, based on the users‟ needs, the web communities were
categorised into utilitarian communities and hedonistic communities (Dhar
and Wertenbroch, 2000).
Example 3
Once the Internet, and particularly the web, had become the most successful
type of medium ever, which had been achieved by combining the distribution
of mass information with the capability of communication between users,
Burnett (2000) offered a classification of the varieties of interactive behaviour
found in web communities (see Table 3.1). In the course of his research
Burnett presented several distinct viewpoints. He first divided users‟
behaviour into: (1) searching for practical information; and (2) searching for
other types of information. Furthermore, he identified the most fundamental
63
levels of behaviour as: (1) non-interactive (lurking – the passive role of
reading); and (2) interactive (active participation and exchange). All these
considerations resulted in Burnett‟s classification of interactive behaviours
(see again Table 3.1). This classification is primarily oriented toward the way
in which participants address each other or behave, in terms of their
information-seeking activities.
Table 3.1 Classification of web communities as a function of characteristics of
communication (Burnett , 2000)
main
main
characteristics of communication
communities
subcommunities
flaming – insulting
trolling – posting inaccurate information
hostile
spamming – extensive unwanted information
cyber-rape – violently assaultive
interactive
not specifically oriented toward information – neutral,
behaviours
humorous, empathic
collaborative
directly related to either information seeking or to
providing information to other community members emotional support
Example 4
Analysing technical and social systems at the same time, StanoevskaSlabeva and Schmid (2001) proposed a classification based on communitysupporting platforms, such as chat, bulletin boards, databases, avatars, and
3D interfaces. They identified four main classes of communities based upon
the type of transactions required by the community, viz. discussion
communities, task-and-goal oriented communities, virtual worlds
communities, and hybrid communities (see Table 3.2).
64
Table 3.2 Classification of web communities as a function of supporting platforms
main communities
main subcommunities
supporting platforms
direct person to person
discussion
topic oriented
communities of practice
chats, BBS
indirect
transaction
task-and-goal oriented
design
databases
online learning
virtual worlds
hybrid
avatars
3D interface
Example 5
A classification offered by Dube et al. (2006), see Table 3.3, is a third web
community classification to be discussed in table form. It applies to what the
authors refer to as “virtual communities of practice” (VCOP), and covers four
main classes: (1) demographics; (2) organisational context; (3) membership
characteristics; and (4) technology environment. The authors selected the 21
most meaningful structuring characteristics and distributed them into the four
classes mentioned above. Table 3.3 shows their resulting classification. Dube
and colleagues list the observed characterisations of the web communities in
the third column of Table 3.3.
65
Table 3.3 Classification of web communities as a function of characteristics of
communication (Dube et al., 2006)
main
subcommunities: structural
characteristic of communication
communities
characteristics
operational
orientation
strategic
temporary
life span
permanent
demographics
young
age
old
transformation stage
maturity level
potential stage
creation process
spontaneous
intentional
boundary crossing
low
high
environment
facilitating
obstructive
organisational
organisational slack
high
low
degree of institutionalised
unrecognized
formalism
institutionalized
leadership
clearly assigned
continuously negotiated
membership
size
small
characteristics
large
geographic dispersion
low
high
members´ selection process
closed
open
members´ enrollment
voluntary
compulsory
members´ prior community
extensive
experience
none
membership stability
stable
fluid
members` IT literacy
high
low
cultural diversity
homogeneous
heterogeneous
topic‟s relevance to members
high
low
technological
degree on reliance on ICT
low
environment
high
ICT availability
high variety
low variety
66
Examples 6 and 7
For a proper overview and a correct description of the development of ideas
regarding classification, we mention two examples: Example 6 ‒ the
classification by Armstrong and Hagel (1995), being the first to mention such
ideas; and Example 7 ‒ the views by Dhar and Wertenbroch (2000). For a
better understanding of our choices, we mention below two classifications,
namely that by Hummel and Lechner (2002), and that by Hinds and Lee
(2008), both using genres, as example 8 and example 9, before we arrive at
Porter's model (Example 10) upon which we will elaborate.
Example 8
Hummel and Lechner (2002) studied 50 business-related web communities
and proposed another classification based on five genres: (1) gaming; (2)
interest; (3) B2B; (4) B2C; and (5) C2C. Hummel and Lechner recognised
that other needs-based classifications could be made, so their preferred
classification is just one of all possible sets of the genres of web communities.
Example 9
Hinds and Lee (2008) analysed social network structure as a critical success
condition for web communities. They observed that users are gathered by
different motivations, and therefore that users have different satisfying needs:
(1) socialisation; (2) gaming; (3) content sharing; (4) knowledge sharing; (5)
activism; (6) development; and (7) exchange.
A summary of the nine examples
Actually, our literature review demonstrates that all of the authors referred to
therein are correct. There are many more different sets of classifications and
many potential usages of these sets. However, besides identifying various
classifications, the main goal of this literature review was to identify the
classification that could best explain and encompass a wider field of web
communities. Following this review, which we admit is only a partial review
but one that provides a good flavour of the possibilities, it becomes evident
that there is no single all- encompassing model that can fit all of the
possibilities. Rather, there are many classifications that are built with a
specific need and with specific criteria, where this specific need defines the
criteria. It is clear now that there are not many classifications of web
communities in the context of immigration, let alone with an emphasis on
immigration. This is our focus in the remainder of this chapter.
67
In the context of immigration, web science scholars have expressed the need
to describe the activity of immigrants by: (1) the perspectives of ownership;
and (2) the main interest that drives activity. One quite useful system that is
also broad and collectively exhaustive, according to the five criteria specified
by Hunt (1991), is the multidisciplinary classification proposed by Porter
(2004).
Example 10
Porter (2004) follows the concepts of web communities, to which she refers
as “virtual communities”, from the perspective of their establishment and
relationship orientation. In her first step she divides web communities
according to establishment, i.e. in member-initiated and organisationsponsored virtual communities. In her second step she divides both according
to their relationship orientation. For the member-initiated virtual communities
the division is made according to social and professional relationship
orientation, whereas for the organisation-sponsored communities it is
according to commercial, non-profit, and government relationship orientation
(see Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1 Porter´s classification of virtual communities (Porter, 2004)
The main part of our empirical research starts by using Porter‟s model. In
accordance with this model our proposed classification consists of two levels
of categories. The first level is based on establishment, and the second level
is based on relationship orientation. For clarity we transform Porter‟s (2004)
tree into a classification table form of the type presented thus far (see Table
3.4)
68
Table 3.4 Classification of virtual communities as a function of establishment and
relationship orientation (Porter, 2004)
virtual communities
subclass
social
member-initiated
professional
commercial
organisation-sponsored
non-profit
government
Porter (2004) continued by offering five attributes that could be used to
characterise a web community: (1) purpose; (2) place; (3) platform; (4)
population interaction structure; and (5) profit model. She indicated that these
attributes could be used to describe any web community regardless of its
class. As mentioned at the beginning of this section, we applied Porter‟s
model as being the best fitting model for the identified web spaces of
immigrants. Following Porter‟s model, 67 web spaces were analysed (see
Appendix C) and distributed across the various slots in the table (see Table
3.5). Not included were 10 web spaces which did not offer any information at
the time of our analysis (they were reconstructions of pages or they were
inactive). It is difficult to draw many conclusions from the distribution in Table
3.5 because this classification is not very descriptive. It is quite justifiable to
state that the majority of web spaces (47 in number) are member-initiated,
and the majority of the organisation-sponsored group (15 in number) are
commercial.
Table 3.5 Classification of the 67 web spaces of the Serbian diaspora according to
Porter’s model (see Figure 3.1)
main communities
subcommunities
#
social
47
member – initiated
professional
commercial
15
organisation – sponsored
non-profit
4
government
1
Total
67
This classification does not provide a clear picture for a better understanding
of the identified convergences (see Table 3.5 – 47 social and 15 commercial).
From the classification shown here it is impossible to discover more about the
47 member-initiated web spaces that are at the same time also social web
communities, and the same holds for the organisation-sponsored commercial
web sites. To obtain a more discrete picture of the analysed sample, it is
69
necessary to introduce a new model that presents the main interests as
separate classes.
Our model: including main interest
Starting with Porter‟s model (2004), in order to better understand and
describe the forces that shape the relevant dynamics of the web, we divided
the observed set of web spaces according to the two following variables (see
Table 3.6).
(a) Ownership – This distinguishes web spaces which create
economic value, where value is defined as revenue generation.
The division along this variable will say more about: (i)
motivations that create the dynamics on the web for immigrants
(do they support communication and provide purposeful content
or just generate revenue); and (ii) the background necessary to
establish a successful web space.
(b) Main interest – This refers to the specific focus of the discourse
among members (Porter, 2004). We expect that this variable will
shed light on the most interesting topic(s) in the world of
immigration on the web.
Table 3.6 is designed with the aim of showing a classification of websites that
will be fit for our research into the Serbian diaspora. The four main entries
are: Class (meaning ownership), Subclass, Main interest, and Number (#) of
web spaces. In the class=ownership column a division is made according to
member-initiated and organisation-sponsored classes. The organisationsponsored web spaces are then divided into non-profit and profit web spaces.
At the subclass level, member-initiated web spaces are divided into
subclasses: general, social, and culture/sport. For the organisation-sponsored
class the non-profit group is divided into religion, government, and charity.
The profit group is divided into commercial and media subclasses, where
media splits into radio, newspapers, TV, and Internet magazine-media portal.
The main interest column follows at the third level, and the number of web
spaces are presented at the fourth level.
70
Table 3.6 Classification of the 67 web spaces of the Serbian diaspora by expanding
Porter’s model
class = ownership
subclass
main interest
# of web
spaces
general
general immigration issues
7
member-initiated
social
social gathering
1
culture / sport
folklore, culture and sport
39
religion
folklore, language, religion
2
non- government
ministry activity
1
profit
charity, culture, education,
2
charity
language
commercial
7
organisationsponsored
radio
profit
media
2
newspapers
TV
Internet
magazine –
media portal
Total
information & selling
various products:
books, cds, music etc.
2
2
2
67
In summary, in Table 3.6, a new classification of web spaces is designed by
adding column three (main interest). The reason for adopting this new
classification lies in the wider spectrum of information that is available via the
list of main interests. The reader is invited to examine the table as follows.
The first two columns can be considered as a qualitative description of the
classification. The full new classification (with main interest and number of
web spaces included) can also be used as a quantitative description tool,
even in the case that the additional columns with the descriptions of the main
interest (a qualitative description) are added. Combining a quantitative and a
qualitative approach at the same time maximises the value of the information
provided by the gathered data.
In sections 3.5 and 3.6, we analyse web spaces from the Serbian diaspora
and Swedish immigration, by distributing them across the proposed
classification method presented in Table 3.6.
3.5 The case of Serbian diaspora
As stated in section 3.2, our analytical approach is a three-layered analysis
using: (a) location; (b) classification (based on typology); and (c) a
technological analysis. We follow this design below.
71
3.5.1 Location
Searching the Internet using Google, and employing the earlier mentioned
terms (see section 3.2), resulted in an extensive list of web spaces. After a
first validity check many of those web spaces were discarded. That was a
necessary step, since there were many web spaces that contained the key
words of interest but did not actually deal with the problem of immigration or
did not professionally address immigrants. Instead those web spaces
mentioned these terms from other points of view (news articles, lyrics, etc.).
Moreover, ten web spaces were discarded because of a lack of information at
the time of analysis.
Thorough qualitative analysis identified 67 web spaces that addressed
immigrants or were created by immigrants. The list of these web spaces is
presented in Appendix A. Our experience from this phase of the analysis
clearly showed that it was not easy to differentiate web spaces for immigrants
from other web spaces which are irrelevant for this study. Since the web is
one of the prevailing world phenomena, it is easy to find within that vast arena
something that mentions “immigration” simply by searching for that word
itself. But it is also easy to be side-tracked towards irrelevant mentions of
immigration or immigrants. So it was necessary, for the purposes of our
research, to “cleanse” the list of identified web spaces, in order to identify
those spaces that are interesting for this study. The results presented here
are therefore taken from web spaces that appear to be made strictly for
purposes related to immigration, spaces that are made by or for immigrants.
After identifying 67 web spaces of interest we classified them according to the
proposed method of classification (Table 3.6). Table 3.7 presents the results.
Here we provide five prevailing observations which will guide our further
analysis4.
(1) The majority (70%) of web spaces, 47 in number, are concentrated in
the member-initiated group, which clearly signifies that immigrants
adopted the web as their chosen space for expression. They are not
dependent on mediators.
the non-profit part (member-initiated + organisation-sponsored/nonprofit). This signifies that the dynamic activity of immigrants on those
In our analysis we use integer percentages, since we believe that using decimals leads only
to pseudo-precision.
4
72
pages – whether the immigrants are posting some information,
responding to advertisements, making money for themselves, etc. ‒
is mainly driven by positive motivations: providing general information
about immigration, organising socialisation, preserving folklore, native
culture, enjoying sports, and learning language.
(3) The number of member-initiated places is some 2.4 times higher than
the number of organisation-sponsored places. Together with the
results from (2) it is evident that member-initiated and non-profit
approaches are larger in number than organisation-sponsored and
profit oriented approaches.
(4) Relatively few (22%) web spaces exist, 15 in number, specifically to
contact immigrants with a view to making some financial gain from
them. It is interesting to note that these web spaces identified music,
books, and news from the country of origin as the most interesting
products to offer to immigrants.
The number of web communities is 9 (i.e. 13.4% of all web spaces are web
communities). The majority of them (78%), i.e. 7 in number, are concentrated
among the member-initiated web spaces, and only 2 of them (22%) are in the
organisation-sponsored/profit group. The number of identified web
communities here is quite small.
73
Table 3.7 Classification of 67 web spaces for Serbian diaspora immigrants
ownership
class
general
memberinitiated
social
culture / sport
nonprofit
religion
government
charity
main
interest
general
immigration
issues
social
gathering
folklore,
culture and
sport
folklore,
language,
religion
ministry
activity
charity,
culture,
education,
language
commercial
profit
radio
m
e newspapers
d
i TV
a Internet
magazine –
media portal
web
sites
web
%web
%web
commu- spaces communities
nities
3
1
36
Total
70
3
78
2
1
2
6
information
& selling
various
products:
books, cds,
music etc.
4
1
30
2
2
2
22
1
1
58
9
The classification of the 67 web spaces by their names and locations can be found in
Appendices A and C.
Our technological analysis deals with: (1) the percentage of the daily reach of
global Internet users; and (2) the state of the traffic that this reach induces in
a 3-month period. The ALEXA web analytic tools provide results as
percentages of the number of global Internet users. The results of this part of
our research are shown in Tables 3.8 and 3.9. In Table 3.8, we mention the
percentage of global Internet users who visit a specific Serbian diaspora web
space at least once during a period of three months. For ease of readability
we introduce a new quantity, referred to as M%. Here 1M% is equal to 0.000
001%, i.e., it is 0.000 000 01 of the whole.
74
Table 3.8 Daily reach of Serbian diaspora web spaces
number of web
M% of global Internet users
spaces
1000-9000
1
100-900
6
10-90
10
1-9
23
Total
40
From Chapter 1 we know that nowadays more than 2 milliard 5 people are
Internet users (i.e. 2,000,000,000). Thus 1M% means 20 Internet users. From
Table 3.8 we can observe that, over a three-month period, between 20,000
and 180,000 users per day have visited exactly one Serbian diaspora website
(represented by 1,000-9,000 in Table 3.8 column 1).
Over the same period of three months, the changes in traffic of each web
space were monitored in order to identify the trend of the traffic. The ALEXA
web tools provide a change in traffic trend – what we might call “visiting trend”
‒ to indicate that it is a change of visiting habits on daily, weekly, and monthly
bases. ALEXA provided traffic trend results for 37 web spaces. (Three of the
web spaces were without reach and traffic change data.) 23 of these 37 web
spaces had an upward trend and 14 a downward trend.
By analysing the results obtained by the ALEXA web tools we identified the
following.
(1) The majority (58%) of Serbian diaspora web spaces, 23 in number,
were visited less frequently, with 20 to 180 visits per day.
(2) There were 10 web spaces, 25% of the total, in the mid-range of
daily visits, i.e. some 200 to 1,800 visitors per day.
(3) Web spaces that attracted a high number of visits were 6 in number
(15%). They had between 2,000 and 18,000 visits per day.
(4) Only one web space (3%) attracted more than 20,000 visitors per
day, and that web space is identified also as a Web community. It is
the Serbian Café (http://www.serbiancafe.com).
(5) The majority (62%) of Serbian diaspora web spaces, 23 in number,
showed a rising trend in traffic.
In the next section we employ the same parameters to analyse the web
spaces created by Swedish immigrants or for their benefit.
5
A milliard is called a billion in American English ( =10 to the power 9)
75
3.6 The case of Swedish immigrants
Analogous to section 3.4, web spaces identified in the field of Swedish
immigration are analysed by: (a) their location; (b) their classification; and (c)
their technological analysis.
3.6.1 Location
In the case of Swedish immigration the first step of analysis was a validity
check. Here too the validity check discarded a number of the web spaces.
Finally, 36 web spaces were identified that specifically address immigrants or
are created by immigrants. The list of these web spaces is presented in
Appendix B. Five of them were discarded since at the time of analysis they
were under construction or without any data. In the case of Swedish
immigration, there was a specific problem of identification caused by the use
of various languages ‒ not all of the web spaces that we found were usable
for our research because of the existence of many different languages among
the Swedish immigrants. Considering that we are analysing the content of
Swedish immigrant web spaces in order to make a precise estimation of their
purpose, only those web spaces that provide information in the Swedish,
English, or Serbo-Croatian language were used in our analysis.
After the identification of web spaces and the application of the proposed
classification model (Table 3.6) we were able to make the following five
observations.
the member-initiated group.
the non-profit part (made up of the member-initiated part plus the
organisation-sponsored/non-profit part6), signifying that the dynamics
of Internet use by immigrants is mainly driven by positive motivations:
providing general immigrant information, organising socialisation,
preserving folklore, native culture, enjoying sports, and learning
language.
(3) The number of member-initiated spaces is 8 times larger than the
number of organisation-sponsored spaces. Together with the results
6
Note the minor reformulation of “non-profit” in Table 3.9.
76
from (2) it is evident that member-initiated and non-profit spaces are
more present than organisation-sponsored and profit spaces.
(4) The number of web spaces that exist on the web specifically in order
to reach the immigrants and thereby to make a financial gain, is
small, only 2 in number (6%).
(5) The total number of web communities is 4 (11% of all web spaces).
Three of them (75%) are concentrated among member-initiated web
spaces, and only one (25%) is in the organisation-sponsored/profit
group.
Table 3.9 represents the results.
Table 3.9 Classification of 36 web spaces of Swedish Immigration
ownership
class
main
interest
general
memberinitiated
nonprofit
profit
language
culture / sport
general
immigration
issues
learning
languages
folklore,
culture and
sport
web
web
%web
sites commu- spaces
nities
3
26
1
1
m
e
di
a
Info,
banners,
services
Internet
magazine –
media
portal
Total
89
94
government
services
2
1
political
commercial
%web
communities
1
11
1
32
6
4
The classification of the 36 web spaces by their names and locations can be found in
Appendices B and C.
Analogous to subsection 3.5.3 the technological analysis of the case of
Swedish immigrants also deals: with (1) the percentage of the reach per day
calculated over all global Internet users; and (2) the average state of the
traffic reach in a three-month period. Over the same period the change of
traffic trend is monitored, based on the results provided by the A LEXA web
analytical tool. Analogous to section 3.4 some of the web spaces are without
77
reach and without traffic change data. Analogous to Table 3.8, the results for
16 web spaces are presented in Table 3.10.
Table 3.10 Daily reach of web spaces of Swedish Immigration
number of
M% of global Internet users
web spaces
10000 – 90000
1
1000-9000
1
100-900
0
10-90
7
1-9
7
Total
16
Our analysis of the traffic trend gives the following result: there are 12 web
spaces having a rising trend, and 4 that have a falling trend.
By analysing these results we observed the following.
(1) The number of web spaces visited infrequently was 7 (44%).
(2) The number of web spaces with mid-range numbers of daily visits
was also 7 (44%).
(3) There were 2 web spaces (13%) with a high number of daily visits.
The most successful identified web space, the one that attracted the
most visits per day, was also a web community, called The Local
(http://www.thelocal.se).
(4) The majority (71%) of web spaces related to Swedish immigration, 12
in number, showed a rising trend in traffic.
The results of this part of our research are shown in Tables 3.11 and 3.12.
Analogous to Table 3.8 (see subsection 3.5.3) we employ the measure M%.
From Table 3.11 we can observe that over the three-month period studied,
one of the Swedish immigration web spaces attracted 10,000-90,000 visits on
a daily basis.
3.7 Interpretation of findings and comparison of two cases
In this section, we offer an interpretation of our findings and make a
comparison between the two cases, the Serbian diaspora and Swedish
immigration. Examining the results we discuss the identified trends from both
social capital perspectives ‒ bonding and bridging ‒ and provide conclusions.
By extracting results from Tables 3.7 and 3.9, and placing them in one table,
i.e., Table 3.11, we can compare the two analysed cases: (1) bonding social
78
capital – as is the case with the Serbian diaspora; and (2) bridging social
capital ‒ as is the case with Swedish immigration.
Table 3.11 Comparison between percentages Serbian diaspora and Swedish
immigration
Serbian diaspora –
Swedish immigrationbonding social capital
bridging social capital
70%
member-initiated
89%
30%
11%
78%
non-profit
94%
22%
Profit
6%
13%
web communities
11%
87%
web sites
87%
The comparison of the two cases led to the following seven tentative
conclusions.
(1) The results presented suggest that most of the activities behind the
usage of the web by immigrants is created by immigrants
themselves. 70% of web sites in the case of bonding, and up to 89%
in the case of bridging social capital are member-initiated. It seems
that immigrants acknowledge the web as their preferred space of
expression, presentation, and communication. They are not passive
bystanders, rather they are active in showing that they expect the
web to serve them, as it does everyone else.
(2) A substantial majority of the web sites, 78% in the bonding case and
94% in the bridging case, are created with positive, non-profit
motivations: providing general immigrant information, socialisation,
preserving folklore and native culture, learning language, and
enjoying sports.
(3) Interpreting the results from Table 3.11 and performing a Chi squared
test, the results of which are presented in Table 3.12, led to the
conclusion that bonding social capital is more profit-oriented than is
bridging social capital. The differences within the other categories
were not significant.
79
Table 3.12 Chi square statistics for Serbian Diaspora (SD) and Swedish Immigration
(SI)
SD(O) SD(E)
SI(O) SI(E)
χ2 (SD) χ2 (SI)
Σ χ2
member-initiated
47
51.39
32 27.61
0.37
0.70
1.07
20
15.61
4
8.39
1.23
2.30
3.53
non-profit
52
55.94
34 30.06
0.28
0.52
0.79
Profit
15
11.06
2
5.94
1.41
2.61
4.02*
web communities
9
8.46
4
4.54
0.03
0.07
0.10
web sites
58
58.54
32 31.46
0.01
0.01
0.01
*p< .05
(4) Making a profit from the situation of immigrants is a present but not
predominant activity on the web. The nature of the web, its user
friendliness, and its fast evolution, combined to open a new space for
offering e-commerce services for immigrants. This shows in 22% of
the cases for bonding social capital, and in 6% of the cases for
bridging social capital.
(5) Web communities, as a tool and a means of communication, have
only begun to penetrate the world of immigration on the web, at
present constituting between 10% and 15% of all web spaces in the
field of immigration. We believe that this range reflects the fact that
the proliferation of web 2.0 and the availability of easy publishing
tools are relatively recent phenomena.
(6) The results presented in this chapter indicate approximately similar
percentages of web communities in the immigrant web space ‒ 13%
in the case of bonding and 11% in the case of bridging social capital
‒ to the range of percentages indicated in (2) above.
(7) The ownership background of web communities related to the
Serbian disapora is similar to the ownership background of those
communities relating to Swedish immigration. 7 web communities out
of 9 (78%) in the case of bonding, and 3 out of 4 (75%) in the case of
bridging social capital, are member-initiated web communities, while
only 2 web communities (22%) in the case of bonding social capital,
and only 1 web community (25%) in the case of bridging social
capital, belong to the organisation-sponsored and profit group.
The research presented here, as mentioned above, was carried out using the
free web analytic tool ALEXA, and without the cooperation of the owners of the
web sites. Therefore, the analysis is fractional – created from different
components. The ALEXA tool is incapable of providing data for all of the
identified web spaces, especially those that are created in quite large
80
domains such as facebook.com. In those cases the A LEXA tool offers
statistical data on reach and traffic for the whole domain and not for subdomains. The results of the technological analysis, in both cases, creates a
similar picture. Most of the web spaces in the field of immigration belong to
low or mid-range spaces in terms of their numbers of visits. But in each case,
Serbian diaspora and Swedish immigration, there was one web space that
stood out as being the most successful. These web spaces were profitoriented and organisation-sponsored web communities: Serbian Café and
The Local.
The difference in the percentages of web communities among all web
spaces, 13% in the case of bonding social capital vs. 11% in the case of
bridging social capital, is small, but admittedly in favour of bonding social
capital. And this difference is not sufficiently descriptive as to justify solid
conclusions. Nevertheless, we tentatively conclude that bridging social capital
on the web is more based on a non-profit motivation than on extracting a
profit from the users.
In summary, when comparing bridging and bonding social capital web
spaces, the results presented in this chapter show that there were more web
sites among those which facilitate bonding social capital than those that
facilitate bridging social capital. Approximately 10% to 15% of the web spaces
were web communities. Furthermore, a majority of bridging and bonding
social capital on the web existed mainly because of the users themselves,
and they did not have a profit orientation. However, web communities that
create the most reach and traffic, and therefore have the most influence, are
created not only with an organisation-sponsored background, but also with a
profit orientation.
3.8 Answer to RQ1
Following the analysis presented above, and with the help of the comparison
given as a result of our analysis, we are now able to provide an answer
(based on four provisional conclusions) to RQ1: What is the motivation
behind the immigrants‟ usage of the web? We start by providing four
conclusions based on our empirical research. We stress that our research
has an explorative nature and that it is not in all aspects representative of the
findings. Nevertheless, we believe that it signifies a trend worthy of mention.
81
Our first provisional conclusion is that there is a small difference in motivation
between immigrants who aim at a bonding social capital and immigrants who
aim at a bridging social capital. The members of both groups, bonding and
bridging, are online, with the intention (the hope) to be informed about the
following topics.
(1) general information on immigration issues (visas, housing, job,
relocation)
(2) socialising
(3) culture, language, and sport (both native and foreign)
(4) following traditional (radio and TV) and new Internet media
(newspapers, magazines, blogs, webTV )
Our second provisional conclusion is that the majority of cases identified by
this research are deployed by immigrants themselves with a positive, nonprofit motivation. It seems that immigrants have acknowledged the web as
their preferred space for expression, presentation, and communication.
Immigrants on the web are not passive bystanders, rather they are active in
showing that they expect the web to assist them. This also signals that
immigrants are not any longer dependent on top-down approaches defined by
their native or hosting governmental bodies. Intuitively, and because of their
repeated favourable experiences, they learn that having a web presence
gives them the opportunity to address their problems through a bottom-up
approach.
Our third provisional conclusion is that a profit making orientation is also
present on the web for immigrants. By its very definition, the web is a perfect
tool to connect people simultaneously with two physically remote cultures, for
example Sweden and the former Yugoslavia. At the same time the web is
also a perfect tool for allowing immigrants to switch between their separate
but parallel identities in their native country and in their new host country. It is
therefore hardly surprising that many e-commerce services specifically target
immigrants, which leads us to acknowledge that making a profit is also
identified as a motivation for being on the web. This conclusion is well in line
with the previous conclusion ‒ namely that immigrants have identified the
web as their new space of expression and action. Therefore, together with
their increase of web-usage, and owing to their positive experiences of the
web, there is also a growing interest amongst immigrants in making a profit in
the same field.
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Our fourth provisional conclusion is that groups of immigrants with an interest
in bonding social capital are more profit oriented than those with an interest in
bridging social capital. However, the most interesting perspective of this
provisional conclusion, derived from our technical analysis, is that the most
successful web spaces in both cases are profit oriented web communities.
Following this result, we may conclude that the evolution of the Internet in an
advanced social interaction direction has been more than welcome to
immigrants.
In summary, our four provisional conclusions suggest that the answer to RQ1
is as follows. Both immigrants and entrepreneurs have acknowledged that
web communities are quite interesting. The possibility of instant interaction
between users of similar interest (i.e., their motivation) delivered by web
community interactive tools, attracts the most attention in the field of
immigration. Immigrants themselves use the web as their space of
expression, communication, and action. The immigrants‟ motivation for web
usage is directed at bonding social capital and bridging social capital,
simultaneously. The difference between bonding social capital on the web
and bridging social capital on the web is not identified, except in the field of
profit acquisition. This research has identified that bonding social capital web
spaces are more motivated by profit than bridging social capital web spaces.
In the next Chapter we will go deeper into the analysis of the two web
communities that have been identified in this chapter, Serbian Café
(http://www1.serbiancafe.com) and The Local (http://www.thelocal.se/), in
order to understand the parameters that attracted such activity.
83
84
4
The acquisition of social capital
In this Chapter we aim to answer RQ2: Is the acquisition of social capital by
immigrants in web-communities a tangible acquisition?
Whether social capital acquisition is tangible is determined by various social
capital acquisition indicators which describe the users‟ lives in web
communities (see section 4.1). We have chosen the following five Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs): (1) Community building, (2) Community norms
and values, (3) Community identity and immigration issues, (4) Diffuse
reciprocal activities, and (5) Community engagement. Arguments to support
our choice are given in the text. A successfully validated KPI means the
existence of tangible acquisition for that indicator. For instance, if community
building between web space users is an activity that is successful, then we
consider social capital acquisition for community building to be a tangible
asset.
With tangible acquisition in mind, we analyse the change that occurs in
immigration practices in relation to Internet technology. This approach can be
labelled as technological determinism. We believe that this label makes the
complexity, caused by the interaction between technology and our society,
transparent and understandable. The value of technology in a social context
is based on the social construction of technology, i.e., on the one hand how
designers create it, and on the other hand how people use it, comprehend it,
and change it (cf. Boyd, 2008). At the opposite end of the social construction
of technology lies “analytic scepticism” which questions the impact made by
technology (cf. Woolgar, 2002). For our purposes two questions are
important, viz. (1) What is the nature of the new “social glue” in a society that
is shaped by technology? ; and (2) Does IT introduce significant changes in
the way we communicate, socialise, and participate? Building upon his
scepticism Woolgar (2002) pays special attention to the range of terms to
which technology has given birth: “virtual society”, “interactive”, “remote”,
“distance”, “digital”, “electronic”, “e”, and “network”. While it is still unclear how
and to what extent these labels differ (and if so, in what respect they differ),
the intriguing area of research for this thesis is how the actions behind these
labels have actually modified the user‟s everyday activities in the past ten
years. Thorough research is needed to show whether it is really true that new
ideas always imply something concrete that is new and something better.
85
In this chapter we continue the investigation of the two cases identified
through quantitative analysis and described in Chapter 3. The investigation is
carried out through a parallel ethnographic interpretive approach of the
SERBIAN CAFÉ web community and THE LOCAL web community. We study the
way users interact on the web, and we analyse: (a) the content of that
interaction; and (b) the acquisition of social capital. In section 4.1 we start by
introducing the indicators of social capital acquisition (see also above). In
section 4.2 we present the historical background. Section 4.3 examines the
demography of the users. Further, in section 4.4 we discuss our research
methodology. In sections 4.5 to 4.9 we discuss the five KPIs: (1) we analyse
the web community ecosystem and the way a community is built (section
4.5), (2) we examine the community norms and values by observing the
generation of trust and, consequently, the generation of reputation (section
4.6), (3) we analyse how community identity is constituted (section 4.7), (4)
we investigate generalised reciprocal activities by identifying users‟
understandings of theoretical concepts, such as local and global
simultaneous living and the concepts of personal and collective (section 4.8),
and (5) since it is important to grasp community engagement and the way
users profit from web-based communities, we investigate the accumulation of
knowledge (section 4.9). In section 4.10 we attempt to establish the dividing
line between the theoretically different processes of bonding social capital
and bridging social capital on the web. Finally, in section 4.11 we provide our
answer to RQ2.
4.1 Indicators of social capital acquisition
The ethnographic study presented in this chapter relies on first-hand
observations of daily participation and on asynchronous interaction in the
SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL web communities. To be able to grasp the
complexity of data created by users‟ social relationships on the web, we have
chosen to employ the ethnographic interpretative approach.
In order to be able to give an adequate answer to RQ2, the aim of this
ethnographic study is to identify and value the indicators of social capital
acquisition in both web communities. The literature in the field of social capital
identification is not abundant. Yet, we found sufficient authoratitive
publications from which we take the most representative works, viz. those by
Putnam (2000), Morgan and Swan (2004), Williams (2006), and Parts (2009)
as our points of departure. In our choice of authoratitive publications we have
86
taken into account those within the timeline 2000‒2010. In order to evaluate
the Key Performance Indicators we faced analogous challenges.
As people came to spend more time online, scholars tried to understand how
Internet usage affects offline social networks and what happens in the newer
online networks. In order to measure social capital scientists tried to identify
and define indicators of social capital. According to Morgan and Swan (2004)
the main indicators of social capital are: social relationship and social support,
formal and informal social networks, group membership, community and civic
engagement, norms and values, reciprocal activities, and level of trust in
others. Williams (2006) considerably influenced the scholars by proposing
Internet Social Capital Scales (ISCS). ISCS became a starting point for much
of the research into social capital on the web (see Ellison et al., 2007;
Steinfield et al., 2008; Steinfield et al., 2009; Valenzuela et al., 2009). Below
we sketch the historical development of the indicators. Close observation and
thorough analysis led to our choice of five KPIs.
Accepting that new forms of measurement must be based on a sound
theoretical background, Williams (2006, p. 8) starts from Putnam‟s (2000) four
criteria that describe behaviour in bridging networks. He uses the criteria as
categories for question development by distinguishing between those that:
(1) are outward looking,
(2) are in contact with a broad range of people,
(3) promote a view of oneself as part of a community, and
(4) exhibit reciprocity with a specific community, or diffuse reciprocity.
Putnam (2000) stresses that altruism, doing good for other people, is an
empirical consequence of community involvement and not a measurement
factor. For that reason altruism is not included in his list of indicators. In order
to develop measures of bonding social capital Williams (2006, p.9) employs
four dimensions of bonding social capital, viz.
(1) emotional support,
(2) access to scarce or limited resources,
(3) ability to mobilise solidarity, and
(4) out-group antagonism.
To discuss the contribution made by Williams (2006) we sketch the context
from which the ideas of measuring social capital on the web emerged. There
is a general agreement that new norms are needed for measuring social
capital online (cf. Quan-Haase and Wellman, 2004; Williams, 2006). The
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main reason for this is the introduction of a new medium, the Internet. Clearly,
social interactions occur in many different ways on this new medium, and
they simultaneously affect the users‟ realms of being “offline” and being
“online”. In the discussion of the impact of IT on social capital and vice versa,
Resnick (2001) introduced at an early stage the term sociotechnical capital.
Resnik‟s research aligns with our research because it seeks indicators of the
online acquisition of social capital, aiming to understand the consequences
and implications in (offline) real life. In a similar way, Williams (2006) aimed to
identify precisely how online interaction affects social capital. While Putnam
(2000) and Morgan & Swan (2004) introduced indicators for social capital in
general, Williams (2006) offers new scales, Internet Social Capital Scales, for
creating the functional differences between the Internet and older media.
Acknowledging that he started from criteria built for older media (the preInternet era), he distinguishes questions by means of a bonding subscale and
a bridging subscale, and combines experiences on the web with offline
experiences.
Parts (2009) separates two determinants of social capital: individual-level and
aggregate-level. After a thorough analysis of recent social capital theory,
Parts arrives at the following dimensions and components of social capital in
his empirical analysis (see Table 4.1).
Table 4.1 Dimensions and components of social capital by Parts (2009)
dimensions of social capital
components
membership and voluntary work for different organisations
networks
relationships with friends and colleagues (bridging)
family relationships (bonding)
interpersonal (general) trust
trust
institutional trust
following social norms (trustworthiness)
civic commitment
interest in politics
political action
concerned with others
sense of community
prepared to help others
For creating our indicators of social capital acquisition, we start with the
observation that research has shown that social capital analysis converges
when taking into account the importance of: (1) networks, (2) trust, (3) social
norms, and (4) sense of community (cf. Putnam, 2000; Morgan & Swan,
2004; Williams, 2006; Parts, 2009). On the basis of this observation we
thoroughly investigated Putnam‟s (2000), Morgan and Swan‟s (2004),
88
Williams‟ (2006), and Parts‟ (2009) indicators to design our own set of
indicators in order to find an answer to RQ2.
In order to establish whether social capital acquisition in the web communities
under investigation is tangible for a particular aspect (i.e., it has a
successfully validated indicator) we envision the use of the following five
indicators which we consider as our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for
establishing tangibility.
(1) Community building – This is perceived as an outward looking
activity, looking outside of one‟s narrow individual existence. Group
membership and community building activities also imply being in
contact with a broad range of people (Williams 2006). Our analysis of
the interaction between the members of a community is conducted in
order to understand how those members create social relationships
(Morgan and Swan, 2004). So far as Parts (2009) is concerned,
these are relationships with friends, colleagues, and family. In our
opinion Williams‟ (2006) approach is the most applicable for this
study.
(2) Community norms and values – This refers to the creation of a user‟s
reputation based on shared norms and values, and the manner in
which the generation of trust emerges. Here we follow Putnam‟s
(2000) vision of community norms as a set of expected behaviours
that are based on community values (Putnam 2000). This approach
was also adopted by Morgan & Swan (2004). According to Parts
(2009), following social norms, i.e., trustworthiness, exists as a
component of civic commitment, while trust (interpersonal and
institutional) is a particular dimension of social capital.
(3) Community identity and immigration issues – the user‟s view of
himself as a part of the community. Important questions here are: (a)
what binds users together? i.e., what is the social glue?; and (b) how
do users help each other? i.e., what is social support? Having in mind
the nature of our research, we find Williams‟ (2006) idea of “a view of
oneself as a part of a broader group” an important and inherently
connected notion representing the feelings of the immigrant.
(4) Diffuse reciprocal activities – This refers to generalised norms of
reciprocity, i.e., the way in which members of a community interact
89
and give material and other forms of support to others without
expecting anything immediate in return. We find “diffuse reciprocal
activities” crucial for gaining a functional understanding of immigrant
web communities. At the same time, we examine how immigrants
relate to the concepts local and global, and to the concepts personal
and collective. Our starting point for theory forming was Putnam‟s
(2000) development of the criteria of diffuse reciprocity with a broader
community, which was later adopted to some extent by Morgan &
Swan (2004), and completely adopted by Williams (2006). Parts
(2009) calls that activity “prepared to help others” (see Table 4.1).
(5) Community engagement – the way users accumulate knowledge
about the community. Morgan & Swan (2004) speak of community
and civic engagement in general, while Williams (2006) analyses the
contact by users with a broad range of people (the advantage of
weak tie networks). For Parts (2009) this particular indicator is a
general “sense of community” ‒ the way that users are concerned
with others and prepared to help others. From Parts‟ perspective our
diffuse reciprocal activities overlap to some extent with community
engagement. Yet our understanding of community engagement,
where users accumulate knowledge of the community and refer to it,
is by its very nature clearly separated from diffuse reciprocal
activities.
In section 4.4, we describe the research methodology adopted to answer
RQ2. There we also provide criteria for the five KPIs mentioned above.
We remind the reader that in this chapter we aim to position and to analyse
bonding and bridging social capital activities. As indicated above, we attempt
in section 4.10 to establish the dividing line between these two theoretically
different categories of activities. For the KPIs and the dividing line, the
historical background (see section 4.2) and the demography (see section 4.3)
are important.
4.2 The historical background of the two communities
In this section we provide a brief contextual background for each of two
communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, and we discuss their
respective roles in the lives of immigrants. We should remark at the outset
that both are profit-oriented communities.
90
4.2.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
The web community SERBIAN CAFÉ was established in 1996 (ALEXA), to
accommodate the needs of immigrants‟ to communicate and to exchange
information by providing them with web-based user-friendly tools. It was
established by Yugoslav-Serbian immigrants in Toronto. After 17 years of
existence its users are still eager to use this type of communication. The
owners of the SERBIAN CAFÉ still attract a good number of daily visits (more
than 50,000 per month) by immigrants from the USA, Canada, EU, as well as
users based in the former Yugoslavia, of which most are in Serbia. Thanks to
this level of use, the SERBIAN CAFÉ is highly ranked amongst those web
spaces that target immigrants. The site‟s choice of using immigration and
diaspora7 as a background motivation was a good decision in terms of
making a profit online, since it attracted many visits and thereby created an
environment of significant influence.
4.2.2 THE LOCAL
The web magazine and web community THE LOCAL was established in 2004
by immigrant journalists residing in Sweden. They started a web magazine to
offer “something” which according to them, was missing in Sweden. Even
though Sweden is well known as a technologically well developed country
with relatively high levels of Internet penetration and Internet awareness,
journalists realised that for immigrants not much was offered on the web.
Based on their personal experience, the journalists were able to identify what
immigrants needed and, as a result, they satisfied those needs on the web.
Nowadays THE LOCAL offers Swedish news in English, a guide to nonSwedish visitors on Swedish life and tourism, advice on real estate, it gives
nightlife reports, makes available several job-search databases, presents a
market place, and provides, amongst other things, a blog area, a discussion
area, and a weather forecasting service.
Their successful web community is advertised with the words:
"Wondering what THE LOCAL is? That means that you are probably
Swedish. Welcome!"
which immediately invites an inclusive, bonding activity paid for by those who
are willing to advertise on the site. Employing the same approach as the one
adopted by the SERBIAN CAFÉ, the owners of THE LOCAL are creating revenue
by displaying advertisements which receive numerous daily visits and many
7
Here we use “diaspora” as the dispersion of any people from their traditional homeland.
91
interactions. They have shown that using the issue of immigration as a means
of attracting visitors to their site was an excellent way to establish a business
venture on the Web. At present (2013) they estimate that the site has more
than 500,000 visitors per month.
4.3 Demographic items
Understanding who the users of these specific web communities are provides
useful information which helps us to reconstruct the composition and
complexity of the web community. However, it is difficult to find reliable data
in cases where the research is carried out only by outside observation and
without any cooperation from the owners of the web site. For this reason we
once again used the ALEXA analytical tool to provide us with external
demographic information (see section 3.2).
4.3.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
Below we present the demography for the SERBIAN CAFÉ in two tables. Table
4.2 presents the demographic data by place of residence. Table 4.3 presents
the data based on the age, gender, education, and place of connection.
Table 4.2 SERBIAN CAFÉ users characterised by place of residence
place of residence
% of visitors
USA and Canada
34
EU (Germany, Sweden, UK, Iceland)
21
Dominican Republic
6
Serbia
18
Former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and
5
Herzegovina)
Others
16
Total
100
92
Table 4.3 SERBIAN CAFÉ users characterised by age, gender, education level and place
of connection
demographic
> 50%
< 50%
item
age
18-44, with a higher concentration 44+
of 25-34
gender
male
female
education
lower
higher
place of
home
work
connection
It is clear that the majority of the users of SERBIAN CAFÉ (55%) reside in North
America and Western Europe. Furthermore, it is interesting to observe that
23% reside in parts of former Yugoslavia (Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina).
From Table 4.3 we learn that more than 50% are in the age range 18 to 44.
According to ALEXA, users are mostly male, with some kind of college
education but not at the highest educational levels, and most of them browse
from home.
4.3.2 THE LOCAL
We identified three different sources of demographic results: (A) THE LOCAL
owner‟s demography report, (B) the ALEXA tool, and (C) the users of THE
LOCAL, who voluntarily filled out a questionnaire on one of THE LOCAL‟S online
discussion forums. The results gathered from these three sources vary
considerably depending on the source. To make a comparison possible we
present the collected data from the three sources in three distinct sets of
tables (Tables 4.4 - 4.6 (set A), 4.7 - 4.8 (set B), and 4.9 - 4.11 (set C)).
A: THE LOCAL owners
In order to attract advertisers to their web space, the owners of THE LOCAL
published their demographic data online. Table 4.4 offers the demographic
data presented by place of origin, Table 4.5 presents the data by place of
residence, while Table 4.6 provides the data by age, gender and education
level.
93
Table 4.4 THE LOCAL users characterised by place of origin
place of origin
% of users
USA
26
UK
18
Canada
4
Australia
4
Sweden
5
Other
43
Total
100
From Table 4.4 we learn that majority of users (52%) come from native
English-speaking countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia) and 5% are
Swedish.
Table 4.5 THE LOCAL users characterised by place of residence
place of residence
% of users
Sweden
51
USA
20
UK
9
EU
12
Asia
5
Other
3
Total
100
According to the owners of THE LOCAL, the majority of their users (51%) are
based in Sweden, and 41% are based either in native English speaking
countries (USA, UK) or the EU, while 5% are based in Asia.
Table 4.6 THE LOCAL users roughly characterised by age, gender, education
demographic
> 50%
< 50%
item
age
of 26-35
gender
male
female
education
high
low
We learn from Table 4.6 that, in THE LOCAL, and relative to other age groups,
there are significantly more male users aged between 18-44 who have a high
level of education.
94
B: ALEXA
The second set of demographic data is offered by the ALEXA tool. Here the
place of a user‟s origin is unknown. The reader can see below the
demographic data separated out by place of residence (Table 4.7) and by
age, gender, and education (Table 4.8).
place of residence
% of users
Sweden
35
USA
23
UK
6
India
4
Bangladesh
3
Canada
3
EU
6
Other
20
Total
100
From Table 4.7 we learn that according to the ALEXA tool
the demographic
data for places of origin are slightly different from the data obtained by the
owners of THE LOCAL: 35% are based in Sweden, 32% are based in native
English speaking countries (USA, UK, Canada), 7% are based in India and
Bangladesh, and 6% are from the EU.
Table 4.8 THE LOCAL users characterised by place age, gender, education
demographic
> 50%
< 50%
item
age
of 25-34
gender
male
female
education
high
low
According to the results from the ALEXA tool presented in Table 4.8, in THE
LOCAL, and relative to other age groups, there are significantly more male
users aged between 18-43 who have a high level of education.
C: THE LOCAL users
The third set of demographic data is provided by the users of THE LOCAL
themselves. In the course of discussion one of the users posed the question
as to the place of origin, residence, age, gender, and education of each of
those taking part in the discussion. That resulted in spontaneous replies as
follows:
95
Table 4.9 THE LOCAL users characterised by place of origin
place of origin
% of users
USA
25
UK
42
Canada
3
Australia
6
Sweden
3
India, Argentina
8
and New Zealand
Other
13
Total
100
According to the users of THE LOCAL, a majority of them (76%) are from native
English speaking countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia), 8% are from India,
Argentina, and New Zealand, and 3% are Swedish (Table 4.9).
place of residence
% of users
Sweden
67
Moving to Sweden
8
Other
25
Total
100
From Table 4.10 we see that majority of THE LOCAL users (67%) reside in
Sweden and a further 8% are about to move to Sweden.
Table 4.11 THE LOCAL users roughly characterised by age, gender, and education
demographic
> 50%
< 50%
item
age
of 30-40
gender
male
female
education
high
low
According to that same user survey, we learn from Table 4.11 that, in THE
LOCAL, and relative to other age groups, there are significantly more male
users aged between 20-40, who have a high level of education.
Combined results
Although the combined results are not easy to interpret, it is possible to draw
some useful conclusions. In Tables 4.4 and 4.9, users from North America
(USA and Canada) and the UK are identified as having the highest
percentages for their places of origin (Table 4.4: North America and UK, 48%,
96
Table 4.9: North America and UK, 70%). Therefore we can conclude that
most of the users have North America or the UK as their place of origin,
followed by the EU, and then Asia and Australia (Table 4.12).
Table 4.12 Combined results of THE LOCAL users’ place of origin
place of origin
indication
North America and UK
most
EU
some
Asia and Australia
few
Similarly, in Tables 4.5, 4.7 and 4.10, the highest percentage amongst the
places of residence is for Sweden (Table 4.5: 51%, Table 4.7: 35%, and
Table 4.10: 67%). Lower percentages of users reside in the USA, the UK, the
EU, and Asia/Australia (Table 4.13)
Table 4.13 Combined results of THE LOCAL users’ place of residence
place of residence
indication
Sweden
most
USA, UK, EU
some
Asia and Australia
few
The most populous age group for the users‟ is 20-34 (Table 4.6: 18-55, Table
4.8: 18-34, and Table 4.11: 20-40). Combining all sources we find that the
majority of users are male with a high level of education.
Table 4.14 Combined results of THE LOCAL users, characterised by age, gender and
educational level
other demographic data
age
20-34
gender
male
education high
Tables 4.12, 4.13, and 4.14 represent the combined results of THE LOCAL‟s
demography. The background of THE LOCAL‟s users is mostly North American
and UK, rather than being from the rest of the EU, Asia, or Australia. Most of
these users reside in Sweden, which is to be expected, since THE LOCAL
targets English speaking immigrants in Sweden. This wide distribution of THE
LOCAL users includes not only those who reside in Sweden, but also those
who used to live in Sweden, and it also covers those who are preparing to
move to Sweden. Typically they are 20-34 years old, male, and with a high
level of education. There are also users who reside in the USA, the UK, the
rest of the EU, Asia, and Australia.
97
4.3.3 Comparison
According to the data presented in the tables above, users of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ generally have the same place of origin, whereas users of THE LOCAL
have a wider range of national backgrounds (Table 4.15).
Table 4.15 Comparison of data of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL users’ place of
origin
place of origin
SERBIAN CAFÉ
THE LOCAL
former Yugoslavia / North America and UK
Serbia
The majority of the SERBIAN CAFÉ users reside in the most developed parts of
the world, while THE LOCAL users mostly reside in Sweden (Table 4.16).
Table 4.16 Comparison of data of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL users’ place of
residence
place of residence
SERBIAN CAFÉ
THE LOCAL
North America and EU
Sweden
Finally, in the next table (4.17) we compare the results gathered from the two
communities with respect to the age ranges, genders and educational levels
of their users. We can see that the majority of users in both cases are male
and in similar age groups: 25-34 (for the SERBIAN CAFÉ) and 20-34 (for THE
LOCAL). However, the SERBIAN CAFÉ users are less well educated, while THE
LOCAL users are more highly educated (Table 4.17).
Table 4.17 Comparison of data of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL users’ age, gender,
education level
other demographic data
SERBIAN CAFÉ
THE LOCAL
25-34
age
20-34
male
gender
male
lower
education
high
The combined results coincide well with the bonding nature of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ web community where users have the same or similar backgrounds and
are geographically spread out. The results also coincide well with the bridging
nature of THE LOCAL, where the users have different backgrounds and the
majority of them are living in Sweden.
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4.4 Research methodology
Technological innovations such as Cloud computing in the first decade of the
21st century, propelled a new generation of visions in the networking and
computational capacities available to researchers and to computer users in
general. We are witnessing the emergence of a wide range of initiatives that
employ technological innovations to enable research through collaboration.
Labels such as e-Science, e-Research, and e-Humanities, represent trends in
digital research. Many academic groups have emerged which aim to study
the social shaping of technology (see Dutton and Jeffreys, 2010). This
approach introduced different perspectives for different scholars. Computer
scientists and engineers, i.e., non-social scientists, are interested in obtaining
more insights into the motivations of IT users, in order to assist them in
designing more effective systems. For social scientists, the social shaping of
technology is not limited to the technical performances of computer systems,
but includes the effects of technology on people and their practices (cf.
Dutton, 2012). However, there is no unified conceptual framework for the
social shaping of digital research that would explain how so many interlaced
factors shape the development, usage, and impact of IT.
The Internet increasingly plays a key role in facilitating research into virtual
events (see Fielding et al., 2008). An acknowledgement of the richness of
social interactions enabled by the Internet came together with the
development of ethnographic methodologies for documenting online
interactions
such
as
computer-mediated
discourse
analysis
(Androutsopoulos, 2011).
In order to answer RQ2 we have chosen an Internet-based ethnographic
approach. Before explaining the motivation for making this choice, it is
important: (a) to highlight what ethnography is, (b) to explain what
implications Internet ethnography has for this aspect of our research, and (c)
to explain how a researcher may tackle the perils of Internet ethnography
(Lee, 2010; Boellstorff, 2010; Rotman et al., 2012; Markham and Buchanan,
2012; Hesse-Biber and Griffin, 2013).
Ethnographic research has its characteristic “going native” and observing the
daily life of the web community at hand. In attempting to understand the
general culture of the socio-cultural space which we are analysing, our
investigation into the cultural ecology of the web community is performed
carefully and from the inside. Together with our research into the relevant
99
scientific concepts in this field, it has thus been possible to develop patterns
of expectations. By comparing the identified cultural ecology of a specific
community with the corresponding theoretical concepts, a researcher may
understand the goings-on observed in that community, and make connections
between the observed social interactions. The research can then offer
explanations of identified events. Ethnography describes and helps us to
understand the complex activities that emerge during social interaction, by
producing theoretical statements which, however, are neither ”facts” nor
”laws” (Blommaert and Jie, 2011).
4.4.1 Internet-based ethnographic approach
We identify the following benefits of using the Internet for ethnographic
research.
(1) Internet interactions enable the creation of new social formations
online, namely web communities where the activities are independent
of physical space and time (Hine, 2008).
(2) By following Internet-based interactions, the researcher obtains a rich
insight and contextualises patterns of users‟ communication (Kytölä
and Androutsopoulos, 2012).
(3) Internet-based ethnographic research offers a holistic description of
web community practices, as well as valuable information for the
interpretation of online events.
(4) Online communication positively influences the researcher–
participant relationship (Barrat and Lenton, 2010). Lack of physical
presence and separate physical settings all reduce the control and
power of the researcher, potentially leading to a more balanced
power relationship between researcher and participant (Hewson,
2007). The lack of physical presence of the researcher makes it
easier for the participant to withdraw or opt out (Kazmer & Xie, 2008).
According to Hine (2008) three key challenges in choosing an Internet
ethnography approach are: (1) presence, (2) authenticity and trust, and (3)
ethics.
(1) Presence – Two questions that arise with Internet-based
ethnographic research are: (i) how does the researcher manage his
presence as: (1a) a user of a web community, and as (1b) a
researcher? And (2) how can someone simultaneously be a
participant and observer, who actually studies the development of
conceptualisation? Hine (2000; p. 65) argues that virtual ethnography
100
is ”ethnography in, of, and through the virtual”. The double role of the
researcher in the Internet-based ethnographic procedure, where a
researcher is a user, raises questions for discussion. Beaulieu (2004)
criticises what he calls the ethnographic “lurking” of researchers
since, in his opinion, “to lurk” implies a lack of engagement. But Hine
(2000) argues that “lurking” is a useful part of the virtual ethnography
methodology ‒ the “lurking” researcher identifies the practices of the
users and goes through the important process of cultural
familiarisation.
(2) Authenticity and trust – Internet-based ethnography has frequently
been placed under the magnifying glass by questions relating to the
authenticity of various accounts (cf. James and Busher 2006). Carter
(2005) reports that her trust in a member‟s accounts was enhanced
by face-to-face meetings. According to Markham (2004) Internetbased ethnography also offers the opportunity to re-examine notions
of ”real” and ”authentic” in relation to ethnography, suggesting that it
would be a mistake to question authenticity only in relation to virtual
ethnography, while face-to-face interaction is traditionally taken as a
”gold standard” for rich and truthful interaction. In other words,
according to Markham (2004), a discussion should not separate
Internet-based ethnography from the ethnographical process. There
is no guarantee that informants are trustworthy, and considerable
efforts may be invested in creating a credible online persona
(Sanders, 2005).
(3) Ethics – after much debate, the literature nowadays speaks about
informed consent, meaning that researchers must be clear about the
purposes of their research and any potential risks to the participants,
and must make it clear that cooperation is a voluntary choice.
Following Hegelund‟s (2005) definition of objectivity in ethnographic research
(which rules out the intrusion of any individuality), the crucial question, which
is itself another challenge to ethnographic research, is how to deliver
authenticity and trust ‒ “how to synthesize objectivity with the perspectivism
that is inherent in the ethnographic process” (Hegelund, 2005; p. 662).
Acknowledging the inherent nature of the researchers‟ perspective, Hegelund
(2005) stresses the importance of researchers‟ presence in and experience of
the analysed world.
101
Being aware of the benefits and challenges of Internet ethnographic research,
the discourse life of two online web communities (SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE
LOCAL) is analysed for a five month time span from January to June 2010.
The data was analysed on a daily basis (half of the time was devoted to the
SERBIAN CAFÉ and the other half to THE LOCAL) by following the users‟ public
discourses, recording their selected interactions (see subsection 4.4.2),
searching for positive instances (as presented in the Appendix to this
chapter), and recording the researchers‟ feelings of ”amazement and
surprise” (cf. Blommaert and Jie, 2011). Agar (1995) calls such observations
”rich points”. For Agar, “rich points” are key moments that have a strong
implication for the researcher. In these moments researchers‟ feelings of
“amazement and surprise” come from their theoretical knowledge that is
juxtaposed to identified events. Therefore, in further analysis the researcher
has to explain the reason behind the emergence of “rich points”. Following
theoretical concepts it is possible to unravel cultural patterns of the
communities that have been analysed by means of lurking. While analysing
different facets of users‟ interactions, gathered pieces of community microreality can be understood, or linked to create a bigger picture. At a later
stage, an understanding of the macro principles can prove or disprove
theoretical expectations.
After spending five months with users online, in the analysis of their everyday
interactions, it is interesting to note that the more time one spends in such a
web community, the more one becomes a part of it. In the next section we
offer representative examples of relevant behaviour. In order to protect their
privacy, if the names are mentioned during the discourse8 they are hidden
behind the character strings “()” and “xxx”.
4.4.2 Criteria for the five KPIs
To perform our analysis of Key Performance Indicators (KPI‟s) (section 4.1),
we first needed to establish approximate criteria. Having in mind that we
analyse the users‟ discourses, we here offer seven criteria for the analysis of
the quotations which we gathered. For each KPI, a specific criterion is defined
(in two cases, two criteria are defined).
8
Each quotation is numbered, with the posting date and the name of the discussion where
the quotation was published.
102
KPI 1 – Community building
In order to understand how the building of a community is
established, we examined the users‟ quotations to find deictic
pronouns and shared topics.
Criterium 1: Instances of in-group pronouns (e.g., “us” and
”we”).
Criterium 2: Instances of shared topics.
KPI 2 – Community norms and values
For grasping the norms and values of a community we
followed the appearance of different roles that users play in
their particular community.
Criterium 3: Instances of roles played in the community, e.g.,
experts, information leaders; the roles that emerged are based
on trust.
KPI 3 – Community identity and immigration issues
We looked for users‟ self-perception and discussions on
emerging facets of immigration.
Criterium 4: Instances of self-perception on being an
immigrant.
Criterium 5: Instances of a discussion on emerging facets of
immigration.
KPI 4 – Diffuse reciprocal activities
Following the definition of diffuse reciprocal social relations we
follow helping occasions among users.
Criterium 6: Instances of helping.
KPI 5 – Community engagement
In order to analyse users‟ levels of community engagement, we
look for events demonstrating support among users.
Criterium 7: Instances of interactions concerning health,
advice, and fighting injustice.
For a proper assessment as to whether the acquisition of social capital from
immigrants is a tangible acquisition, we have now formulated five KPIs and
seven criteria. We aim to validate the KPIs with the help of the criteria. During
a period of five months we have collected material from both the SERBIAN
CAFÉ and THE LOCAL. At that time (2010), it was not common to rely on big
103
data and to collect all relevant communications. Throughout the five month
period we divided our acquisition time equally between both the SERBIAN CAFÉ
and THE LOCAL. On each side we therefore spent roughly 2.5 months. Since
we were searching for KPIs and their criteria, we considered the concept we
created in order to conduct our research as a positive research tool, i.e., we
searched for positive instances. This means that we were interested in
communication fragments which contained instances of the chosen criteria. In
order not to collect all communications, we selected 101 characteristic
extracts which contained positive instances of the criteria. The extracts that
we have retained for our study are presented in their original form in
Appendix D and Appendix E. For our analysis we have selected phrases form
Appendix D and Appendix E and categorised them according to the five KPIs.
For a proper overview of our research we aimed at a roughly comparable
number of instances for each KPI (at least 4 for the SERBIAN CAFÉ and at least
4 for THE LOCAL). With reference to the contents of section 4.5, we observe
that the distribution is as follows (see Table 4.18).
Table 4.18 Number of quotations for validation of KPIs
KPI
#Quotations in #Quotations in
SERBIAN CAFÉ THE LOCAL
1
5
3
2
4
5
3
7
10
4
4
2
5
170
138
dividing
5
4
Bo&Br
We remark that the number of quotations for the validation of the KPIs 1,2,3,
and 4 are in the range of 4 quotations, with two exceptions (KPI 1 has a 3,
and KPI 4 has a 2). This also holds true for the number of quotations used for
the validation of KP1 dividing Bo (bonding capital) from Br (bridging capital) 9.
However, for KPI 5 (community engagement) we faced a different setting.
Details are given in section 4.9 where we delve more deeply into this subject
and explain what lies behind KP5.
Here, by “dividing”, we mean the quotations we gathered which are useful for separating
the bonding and bridging activities. We use this division to determine whether there are any
bridging activities in the bonding community of The SERBIAN CAFÉ, and whether there are any
bonding activities in the bridging community of THE LOCAL.
9
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4.5 Indicator 1: Community building
According to Norris (2002), web community participation will widen and
deepen a user‟s experience of their community, helping them to: (a) connect
to others with different beliefs or backgrounds; and (b) to strengthen existing
social networks. Therefore, during this study, a substantial amount of time
was spent on understanding how the cultural ecology of each web community
was built, and to discover the most important characteristics of its
functionality.
For the validation of KPI 1, community building, we formulated two criteria,
viz. Criterium 1: Instances of in-group pronouns (e.g., “us” and ”we”), and
Criterium 2: Instances of shared topics. Criterium 1 followed the instances of
“us” and “we”, but even more importantly it implicitly considered the common
feeling of a group (we belong to a group, i.e., we feel attached, cf. Williams,
2001). An example is: we share war feelings and so we share the wish of
leaving the country. For our example of a shared topic we have chosen
“discrimination”.
In subsection 4.5.1 we show the results from the SERBIAN CAFÉ. Then in
subsection 4.5.2 we discuss the precise validation procedure with the two
chosen criteria, the relevant factors, and the corresponding measurements. In
subsection 4.5.3 and 4.5.4 we perform the analogous procedure for
community building in THE LOCAL (the shared topic here is “being an
immigrant in Sweden”). In subsection 4.5.5 we make our comparison of the
two communities (the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL). Finally, in subsection
4.5.6 we offer section conclusions.
In this section, we select five quotations from the SERBIAN CAFÉ, and three
quotations from THE LOCAL, in order to support and describe the community
building process.
4.5.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
The majority of users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community have a similar
ethnic background and immigrant status. They were born in former
Yugoslavia and they speak Serbo-Croat as their mother tongue, or as users
call it “the Serbian language”. The aftermath of the 1990s wars treats SerboCroat as a non-existent language. All immigrants experienced wars and
bombardments in some way, and these events promptly changed their life
situation. Suddenly, they were immigrants. In their communication they often
105
mention the 1990s wars as a reason for becoming an immigrant. Speaking
the same language is usually a form of social glue and therefore, for these
users, a motivation to visit the SERBIAN CAFÉ.
The most prominent topic of discussions in the SERBIAN CAFÉ is a feeling of
discrimination. Users feel that they are discriminated against in their host
societies on the basis of their ethno-national affiliation and, more generally,
that they are regarded as foreigners. This topic is present many times in the
users‟ interactions that we encounter. For instance, in quotation (1) below,
upper case letters are used as a sign of a raised voice, to express the anger
of being discriminated against so many times. This particular user also quotes
other users who repeatedly mentioned the problem of discrimination.
(1): “...„THEY DON‟T LOVE ME BECAUSE I AM SERBIAN...”, „THEY DON‟T
LOVE ME BECAUSE I AM MUCH SMARTER THAN THEM” …I CALL
THAT BALKAN PREJUDICES AND I CANNOT LISTEN TO THAT
ANYMORE..”
[posted 09. February 2010. 22.00, Serbian Café Discussion: Employment:
Ethnic discrimination; translated into English]
The problem of discrimination presented in the next quotation demonstrates
an attempt to analyse the causes and manifestations of discrimination in
mainstream society.
(2): “…It (discrimination) is felt immediately when you say your name (you don‟t
have to mention the surname) and also when they decide on the tasks you
have to do and how much you have to work….They changed their opinion
about us as a nation because I try, whenever I can, to introduce myself as a
man first and then introduce my beloved Serbia! Now we have fun together
over tennis and football, especially watching the Serbian teams, and
together we also watch other games, so it means they are very interested
and are ok when they get to know you a little better…”.
In quotation (2) we see that a criterium for discrimination is to have an original
Serbian name or surname. These are the identification marks of a person‟s
origin and patrimony. The SERBIAN CAFÉ user (2) argues that it is not
necessary to say the surname, since it usually ends with “ic”, which indicates
a Yugoslavian ethnic origin (the majority of surnames in former Yugoslavia
end in “ic”). After his first comment about discrimination, this user introduces
a second discriminatory statement which relates to the amount of work that a
106
discriminated person has to do. Implicitly, this user introduces the SERBIAN
CAFÉ web community as an “ic” web community, signalling that the web
community is based on the same background.
(3): “You are 100% right, they hate us like the plague…”
Replying to previous posts (1) and (2), the user in (3) agrees and uses a
metaphor of a horrible illness, to give a better description of something to be
avoided. By using the in-group pronoun “us”, he refers to a group of people
within this web community, but at the same time he refers to a group of
discriminated immigrants. Quotations (4) and (5) offer more insight into the
first community building factor, viz. shared experiences of war. They read as
follows.
(4): “..Man, there was a war. We left because we had to..”
[posted 19. May 2010. 03.30, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Emigration: Why
did you emigrated?; translated into English]
(5): “…most of us emigrants here in this immigrant community, experienced that
war story, would anyone emigrate from a good life, leave everything behind,
house, job, friends, .. “
[posted 19. May 2010. u 06.23, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Emigration: Why
The users in quotations 3, 4, and 5 use the in-group pronoun “we”, as a
community building denomination, and use war as their mutual connection.
So it is not a rare occasion when users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ clearly refer to
the civil war in Yugoslavia during the 1990s as a background to their
migration history and motivation. The very same background and experience
of civil war is the precise feeling (where Criterium 1 and Criterium 2 are
involved) that is accountable for community building in this particular web
community. Sharing traumatic experiences in fact works well as a social glue
that connects people willing to share their frustrations with those “who know
what we are talking about”, as users put it.
These quotations are just the most direct examples. The SERBIAN CAFÉ
discussions which we observed are full of “we Serbian people”,” we in the
war”, “we in Yugoslavia”, and “us immigrants”. While the use of “we” is an
attempt of constructing an imagined community of fellow country nationals,
107
the “us” immigrants presents a neat opposition term in contrast to “them” nonimmigrants.
4.5.2 Factors and measurements
Following Criterium 1, we measured 15 instances of the in-group pronouns
“us” and “we” in the quotations (see also Appendix D). For Criterium 2, we
measured 6 instances of the topic of “discrimination” and 64 posts in the
professional ethnic discrimination discussion (see subsection 4.9.1), which
makes 70 instances altogether (see also Appendix D). Moreover, the intensity
of the use of the in-group pronouns is in our opinion even more telling than
their frequency. In summary, we may state that the indicator of community
building is certainly present in the SERBIAN CAFÉ.
4.5.3 THE LOCAL
The users of THE LOCAL have different national backgrounds, they all speak
English and they are immigrants. Users speak about their shared experiences
of being an immigrant in Sweden. This is the topic that sometimes creates
tensions and therefore provides sufficient reason to feel part of THE LOCAL
community. A telling example is the following.
(6): “What a strange question to ask of immigrants...”
[posted 16.Sep.2009, 02:11 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: What was
Sweden like before the immigrants?]
In (6) the user of THE LOCAL implicitly introduces THE LOCAL web community
as a community of immigrants. For users of THE LOCAL the answer appears to
be self-evident. While the owners of THE LOCAL web community advertise
users as “professionals” on the move (Figure 4.1), users themselves feel their
immigrant status. THE LOCAL advertises its capacities by inviting visitors to a
“unique audience of 2.5 million professionals”. The term unique in web
advertising means unique IP addresses.
108
Figure 4.1 Invitation to advertise on THE LOCAL web community
Since THE LOCAL as an online business venture tries to attract more
advertisements, it is much more attractive to call users “professionals”. That
label implies that they have a comfortable position on the social ladder.
Figure 4.2 shows how the owners of THE LOCAL address and present their
users, or as they call them their “readers”. It is clear from the way they
describe their users that THE LOCAL is more turned towards “posh”
immigrants.
Figure 4.2 The readers of THE LOCAL and their work
With this description of its users (Figure 4.2), THE LOCAL attempts to introduce
itself as a place of interest for those who can generate economic value. They
109
do so implicitly. THE LOCAL invites potential advertisers to a web community
offering financially interesting social capital.
However, in examples where users themselves reflect on their actual social
positioning and their relationship to the society in which they live, they will
state that they are English speaking immigrants gathered in THE LOCAL web
community. In the next quotation (7), a user connects the members of the
community by using “us”, showing that “us” is a well understood pronoun.
Once again “us”, represents those who moved away from their countries of
origin and are gathered in the same web community.
(7): “…That is why many of us has moved..”
[posted 16.Sep.2009, 10:04 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden:
What was Sweden like before the immigrants?]
User (8) clearly introduces three facts about THE LOCAL web community. First,
the user is aware where the majority of the members of the community come
from. Second, he introduces the English language as a tool to obtain a job.
Third, he introduces the English language as a community building
cornerstone. Moreover, the user does not simply introduce English but
“proper and correct English”. The user is thus aware of the monoglot
language ideology which grants access to a job, but also of semiotic
consubstantiality ‒ the user becomes what he speaks and writes (Spotti,
2011).
(8): “… We have lived in english speaking countries before and u could get job
with your own accent provided u speak proper and correct english...”
[posted 2.Mar.2010, 12:46 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Swedish themes:
News via THE LOCAL]
In order to analyse Criterium 1, we identified 13 instances of the in-group
pronouns “us” and “we” in users‟ quotations (see Appendix E). Further
analysis of the factors for Criterium 2 identified 12 instances of the shared
topic of being an immigrant in Sweden (see Appendix E).
4.5.5 Comparison of community building
When comparing the way these two communities were built, it becomes clear
that shared experiences bring users closer. In the case of SERBIAN CAFÉ the
notion of community is given its meaning based on four similarities amongst
110
the users: (1) mother tongue, (2) cultural background, (3) experience of war,
and (4) feeling of being discriminated. Simultaneously, the notion of
community in the case of THE LOCAL web community derives its meaning from
two similarities of the users: (1) the language; and (2) their immigration
status. In both web communities, users employ the in-group pronouns “us”
and “we” in order to denominate themselves as immigrants on the move.
Having spent a substantial amount of time online to gain an understanding of
the users‟ general social culture (Shenton, 2004; Hegelund, 2005; Hine,
2008; and Blommaert and Jie, 2011), we may argue that the cultural diversity
of the users of THE LOCAL makes them more cautious (more polite) in
expressing their thoughts, than in the case of the users‟ communications in
the SERBIAN CAFÉ. Users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ are direct, behaving as though
they know to whom they are speaking, or as one of the users said ‒ as
though they are “among their own”. The prevailing atmosphere in THE LOCAL
web community resembles one where the user is sitting with new
acquaintances and does not yet know what kind of slang would be acceptable
around that particular table. It is a kind of "we just met" atmosphere. They
communicate in English and in most cases they are quite careful.
4.5.6 Section conclusions
From the observations of the subsections above we may conclude that in the
SERBIAN CAFÉ, the meaning of community building is based on: (1) mother
tongue, (2) cultural background, (3) experience of war, and (4) feeling of
being discriminated, whereas in THE LOCAL it is based on (1) the language
and (2) the immigrant status. We found that the users of both web
communities have a sense of community, or a common created network.
They use “us” and “we” in their interactions to denominate their feelings of
belonging to a particular web community. In the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ,
users are gathered around feelings of immigrant discrimination, war
memories, and coming from the same background. The building feeling in
THE LOCAL community is based on experiences of life in Sweden, immigrant
status, but also on the basis of what the users can offer, in a similar way to
what THE LOCAL offers in its advertisements.
From the statistics derived from posts on the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL
(see Appendices I and II), we observe that for Criterium 1, the number of
instances of in-group pronouns, the count is 15 in the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 13 in
THE LOCAL. For Criterium 2 the number of instances is 70 in the SERBIAN CAFÉ
and 12 in THE LOCAL. From these observations we conclude that the way in
111
which both groups employ in-group pronouns is similar for both groups.
However, there are many shared topics clearly present in the users‟
discussions in the SERBIAN CAFÉ, but very few in THE LOCAL discussions. The
reason for this disparity might lie in the diversity of the topics in THE LOCAL.
The consequence of this difference is reflected in the precise meaning of the
notion of community building ‒ those in the community who exhibit more
instances of in-group pronouns (the SERBIAN CAFÉ) are perhaps more
connected by the notion of community than are those in THE LOCAL, who
exhibit fewer instances of such pronouns.
4.6
Indicator 2: Community norms and values
In their host country immigrants face an accumulation of complexities. They
are in a new culture, functioning in a new language, facing a new system of
organisation rules, and dealing with new institutions. Vertovec (2007) argues
that conviviality in multi-ethnic interactions, i.e. cooperation regardless of
ethnic background, is normal everyday practice. Naturally, by being aware of
this everyday complexity, immigrants turn to web communities that cater
specifically to immigrants, in order to find help, to reduce the level of
complexity that they face, and to find a short cut to solutions for their
problems. Below we discuss some examples of the way in which the users in
both web communities look for help.
In this section we focus on community norms and values. For a community it
is important that membership is based on trust. Therefore, a main point of
research is: how do people in a community generate trust? Having many
users in direct communication, exchanging information, and giving advice all
raise the question of trustworthiness of the source. Arrow (1974) indicates
that trust is a lubricant of cooperation, while Parsons (1968) discusses the
integrative function of trust, and considers system-level trust in normative
systems as a main source and contributor to the maintenance of social order.
Insights into a second function of trust are provided by Luhmann‟s (2000)
research, what he refers to as a reduction of complexity. He argues that
people increasingly need trust because of the growth of complexity of modern
society and because the consequences of decisions are more uncertain in
the modern world. Both Parsons and Luhmann find trust beneficial for the
social system as a whole. Even more interesting to this study is how trust
functions on an individual level. According to Buskens (2002), trust is
generated after positive experiences with a trustee, so a “trustor‟s trust in the
trustee will then generally increase” (Buskens, 2002, p. 11).
112
For testing KPI 2, community norms and values, we have formulated
Criterium 3, which states that: instances of the roles played in the community,
e.g., experts and information leaders, are roles based on trust. During users‟
interactions, i.e. the community building process, some users analyse the
interactions of other users and estimate their value. In this way those users
who are evaluated as being good informants, “experts in the field”, are
proclaimed as experts or information leaders in the group. And this
reputation-building process is based on trust. The way that the trust is built is
that first a particular user is identified as being someone who often makes a
certain type of comment or provides a certain type of information. Then that
identification can be checked and if seen to be true, by verifying repeated
instances of that user‟s postings one comes to the conclusion that that user is
an expert on the particular subject.
Criterium 3 follows the reputation-building process based on trust. Implicitly,
the emergence of the reputation-building process shows that certain norms
and values are accepted in the community. Thanks to the accepted
community norms someone may become regarded as a “community expert”.
In subsection 4.6.1 we present the gist of our examination of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ. Then we discuss the validation procedure in subsection 4.6.2. In
subsections 4.6.3 and 4.6.4 we perform the analogous procedure for counting
the instances of specific roles in THE LOCAL web community. The comparisons
of community norms and values in both web communities are performed in
subsection 4.6.5. Finally, in subsection 4.6.6 we provide our section
conclusions.
In this section (4.6) we selected four quotations from the SERBIAN CAFÉ to
support and describe positive instances of a specific event that we had
already established as one of our research tools, and we selected five
quotations from THE LOCAL, relating to community norms and values.
4.6.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
Users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ address the community with a clear confidence
and shared experiences of facing different obstacles, challenges, and even
deep problems. Below we present two quotations taken from the SERBIAN
CAFÉ (9) and (10).
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(9): “Buy or rent a house, apartment in the USA? The question is now ...
I'm interested in how you manage to do this in the long-term?...”
[posted 21. March 2010. 23.17 SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: Emigration: Buy
or rent a real-estate for living?; translated into English]
(10): “Danxxe, Thank you for reply…I hope that someone else who knows about
the topic and the calculation too, will comment here….”
[posted 22. mart 2010. u 14.00, SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: Emigration: Buy
or rent real-estate for living?; translated into English]
While living a “web life” in their web community, users become acquainted
with the iterative reactions of particular users and start to treat these sources
based on the reactions they have experienced. If a source behaves well, and
provides information that is relevant and truthful for the community, the
community awards him with more respect and he becomes a “local expert” or
“informal leader” for a particular topic (such as language, law, real-estate, or
immigration). The opposite holds if a user misbehaves, is vulgar, and/or does
not contribute to the community‟s well-being. In such cases the user gets a
poor reputation and is treated accordingly, possibly becoming an outcast (see
quotation 12, below).
One example of a “local expert” is the SERBIAN CAFÉ user Danxxe, who is an
expert on real-estate. Users publicly praise her contribution. Quotation (10)
was posted as the answer to a question asked earlier in the same
conversation. Here the user is expressing his satisfaction, thanking Danxxe
for the information he obtained through her; and at the same time he
validates her contribution and gives her a recommendation. In the next
quotation (11), the user promotes Axxx(64) as a community expert on
translation matters.
(11):” Dear Axxx(64) thank you for replies (translations). ..Many regards from
Goxxx since I see you speak excellent English.”
[posted 15. February 2010. 15.35, SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: Employment:
Translation; translated into English]
At the same time as particular participants receive some positive comments,
some members of the community also use the public discussion forum to
evaluate users whose contributions might appear futile or disrespectful of the
web community. The following quotation (12) is from a local real-estate
expert, clearly someone with a good reputation, defending other users‟
behaviour by attempting to keep the community more open to different views.
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(12): “ Why ban Grxx(Brxxy)? Everything that he says about life in USA and NY is
almost true. I agree that his way is a little bit childish and immature, but why
ban him because of that? Just because we do not like to hear that for most
of us in the USA life is pure survival?...”
[posted 01. April 2010. 00.17, SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: New York:
Petition to ban GrxxBrxxy; translated into English]
By analysing Criterium 3 we identified 4 specific roles played in the SERBIAN
CAFÉ. The four roles that we identified are: (1) the real-estate expert, (2) the
language expert, (3) the visa expert, and (4) the expert on local life
conditions.
4.6.3 THE LOCAL
Similar processes of building trust and offering expertise are present in THE
LOCAL web community. In quotation (13) the user addresses THE LOCAL
community on a residence permit issue, and (14) contains a reply.
(13): “Hi all, Just wondering if anyone ever tried applying for Residence Permit to
join partner in Sweden, while you are residing in the middle east? I am not
middle eastern just happen to live here at present…. ”
[posted 27.Oct.2009, 02:53 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Swedish themes:
Visas/permits: Residence Permit Applying from Middle East]
(14):” If you are NOT married then you would be applying based on family ties
i.e. a sambo permit. I have one of these and as I am NOT married to my
partner I of course did not have to supply a marriage certificate. Have you
told migrationsverket that you are married? I know that as part of my
application I had to show my divorce papers from a previous
relationship...Bottom line is, is that you do not have to be married to a
swede to apply for a permit to come and live here with them. But you must
be able to prove that your relationship is real. Good luck.”
[posted27.Oct.2009, 03:30 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Swedish themes:
Visas/permits: Residence Permit Applying from Middle East]
Users of THE LOCAL feel comfortable in their community and they do not
hesitate to engage in a public discussion about their personal issues. The
user in quotation (15) asks for medical help. In (16) we find a reply to an
urgent legal matter.
(15): “Hi there, Am registered with the local barnmorska clinic but was dismayed
to learn that my first ultrasound won't be until the 18th (!!) week of
pregnancy. I had several complications in my last pregnancy and am
disturbed to know that something could be wrong and I won't know until 18
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weeks/fetus won't be monitored closely. Does anyone know of places in or
north of Stockholm where I can get an ultrasound earlier?...”
[posted 19.Apr.2010, 02:27 PM, THE LOCAL: Discussion: Life in Sweden:
Getting an ultrasound before 18 weeks?]
(16): “You got a dependent RP because that is what you applied for. You could
have applied for two primary RP based on SE, but it could get really
complicated if one of the applications got rejected or delayed.”
[posted 9.Jun.2010, 10:24 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden: Oh
my god! Migrationsverket, I need help! SOS!]
The following quotation (17) is a piece of advice given by THE LOCAL web
community expert on Swedish education.
(17): “Have you had your teaching credentials authorised by HSV? Because of
the new rules that will require municipalities to hire only licensed teachers
this may be an issue. The rules are here - you wll need
gymnasiet Svenska B or TISUS to get registered
http://www.hsv.se/qualificationsrecognitio...7480002102.html …”
[posted 21.Apr.2010, 02:17 PM, THE LOCAL: Discussion: Life in Sweden:
Applying for teaching posts in secondary schools]
The above quotations are all examples of what is called the web-street
economy, analogous to being on the street in the offline neighbourhood
where the participants can exchange local tricks and tactics with their
neighbours. This also happens on the web, where users exchange tips on
how to deal with legal matters, institutions, education, etc. The web-street
economy is one of the most prominent motivations for taking part in the web
community discussions on THE LOCAL. Sharing the same offline life ‒ the
same cultural, political, educational, and health environment ‒ they turn to
each other for advice.
Our analysis of Criterium 3, resulted in identifying 3 instances of specific roles
amongst the users of THE LOCAL web community. The roles are: (1) the visa
expert, (2) the real-estate expert, and (3) the Swedish educational system
expert.
4.6.5 Comparison of generation of trust
In both web communities trust is created by an iterative positive experience.
Trust and social capital are mutually reinforcing – trusting relationships
generate social capital and then in turn social capital generates more trusting
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relationships. Both Coleman (1988) and Putnam (1993) define trust as a key
component of social capital and a precondition of healthy social capital. As
mentioned earlier, the mechanisms of generating trust in both the SERBIAN
CAFÉ and THE LOCAL web communities are the same. By combining
conviviality with web-street economy behaviour, they profit. They share their
personal knowledge or experiences, and they create positive experiences
that result, first in trust and then in the creation of social capital. Members of a
web community identify the behaviour of other users and act accordingly,
either by promoting web community experts or by discussing and criticising
negative behaviour that is not useful to the web community. In this way, the
web community by itself, following its own norms and values, creates or
destroys reputations. In doing so the community reflects the fact that the
generation of trust in web communities is insensitive to the inherent nature of
the web community.
The examples presented in the subsections above demonstrate that, after
iterative positive experiences in both web communities, trust can be created.
Users of both web communities profit from conviviality and web-street
economy practices. The web community itself promotes specific social norms
that are employed for the generation of reputation and trust. According to the
norms of the web community, a specific user interaction is either proclaimed
as positive (and the user becomes recognized as a “local expert” or
“information leader”), or it is perceived as negative, not useful to the
community, so those users acquire a poor reputation and they become
outcasts of the community.
From the statistics that we have derived we can conclude that 4 roles can be
identified in the SERBIAN CAFÉ community: the real-estate expert, the
language expert, the visa expert, and the expert on local life experiences. In
THE LOCAL there are 3 identifiable roles: the visa expert, the real-estate
expert, and the expert on the Swedish educational system. Our provisional
conclusion is that both communities have a similar structure, with similar
norms and values.
4.7 Indicator 3: Community identity and immigration issues
In this section we present the analysis of a user‟s own understanding of the
important issues of community identity and immigration. Having in mind that
immigration is a sensitive issue, and that the view of a community is unknown
117
a priori, we closely examined the way in which users perceive their
community identity and their position in the community.
For the validation of KPI 3, i.e. community identity and immigrations issues,
we formulated two criteria. Criterium 4 is: Instances of self-perception of
being an immigrant ‒‒ to be precise it is how the process of creating
community identity succeeds through the users‟ self-perceptions of being an
immigrant. Criterium 5 is: Instances of a discussion on emerging facets of
immigration.
In subsection 4.7.1 we present the discussions from the SERBIAN CAFÉ. Then
in subsection 4.7.2 we discuss our validation procedure using the two criteria
in the SERBIAN CAFÉ. In subsections 4.7.3 and 4.7.4 we perform the
analogous procedure for THE LOCAL. In 4.7.5 we perform a comparison and in
subsection 4.7.6 we provide our section conclusions.
We selected seven quotations from the SERBIAN CAFÉ, and ten quotations
from THE LOCAL, in order to support, describe, and illustrate the indicators of
community identity and immigration issues.
4.7.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
Users discuss many immigration topics, such as accommodation, visas, jobs,
administration, legal issues, salaries, emigration, citizenship, retirement,
investment, and cooperation. It is interesting to see that they do not strictly
follow the web community designer‟s idea of categorisation (dividing
discussion topics into sections). Instead users shape discussions in their own
way, posting their questions wherever they wish. As mentioned earlier, users
call the SERBIAN CAFÉ an “immigrant community” and many times they end up
in a very long discussion comparing the realities of immigrant life in the USA
with Canada, Germany, or Sweden. On many occasions users aim to
compare different countries in order to discover which is the society where
discrimination is at its worst, or to discuss the difficulties of being a Serb,
surviving the war, or the reasons that made them decide to emigrate. Below
we provide an example of the last of these three topics.
(18): “What made me emigrate? The war. Since I am Serb but living in Croatia,
and for us there is no life there, I was banished first in 91 from one of the
bigger cities in Croatia, then in 98 again from RS Krajina, after that so
called peaceful reintegration, easier to say after Slobodan Milosevic‟s
treason, which is my reason to emigrate. If there had not been a war most
probably I would never emigrate.”
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Quotation (18) above depicts the multi-faceted nature of the web community.
In this example the “tone” in which the user‟s opinion is presented amplifies
the message. The web community is a space for sharing emotions, thinking
of the past, expressing the sorrow for what all of them left behind. On top of
this it introduces a group identity that bonds them together: “us… in this
immigrant community”. The Serbian identity problem, and the memories of
war are dominant and hard to talk about, see quotation (19).
(19) “…most of us emigrants here in this immigrant community, are from that war
story. Would someone emigrate from a country with a good life, leave
everything behind, house, job, and friends.. “
did you emigrate?; translated into English]
Even though it is not possible to draw a clear line between Serbian
immigrants and the people still living in Serbia, because different opinions can
be found within both groups, it is evident that this web community functions
well as an “outlet” for subjects that often bother a user, things that a user
would like to share, argue, or even fight about, but with someone who knows
what the complaining user is talking about, someone who is one of “your
own”. The everlasting dilemma “to be or not to be an immigrant” is one that
definitely intrigues many of the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ. Posts that discuss
this type of topic are always much visited and give rise to lengthy discussions
(usually more than 20 posts, and up to 69 in our data). An example is
quotation (20):
(20): “ You are annoying me and I feel sorry for you! Your Serbian is horrible!..
You cry when you are in the USA that you miss Serbia, Belgrade and your
village, and then when you come to Serbia, once in three years, then you
cry that you miss the USA and you are weaned off of our food, our flies, our
dirt, our friends, and that our cigarettes suffocate you and scratch your
throat, you do not understand our humour and our world anymore, you do
not understand how come we cry that we do not have money but we are
out every night having fun, and we are dressed much better than you. You
just say stupidities without anyone asking you anything”
[posted 16. April 2010. u 15.26, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: USA: How do
you live in the USA? I am really interested?; translated into English]
This particular user criticises the behaviour of those who left Serbia. He
clearly depicts certain characteristics of the lives of Serbian immigrants in
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North America ‒ the way they are forgetting the Serbian language, the
infrequency of their visits to Serbia, the way they accept new values and
become distant to those left behind in their homeland, the communication gap
between them, and even their economic status. The repeated use of the “our”
word exhibits the elements of belonging of doing10, whereby those still living
in Serbia are authentic Serbs, while those who emigrated are not. The
content of quotation (20) is a an example of loyalty expressed through
language, so the disloyal immigrant becomes the “other” who does not
understand how it works any longer in Serbia. User (21) replies to user (20)
regarding the language matters, and that usually provoke a long and
passionate debate on the topic: mother tongue vs. English language, using
English and the Serbian language in the same post, using the English
language to explain something.
(21): “HA HA HA HA….. “cry” and “sick”…HA HA HA AND MOURNS THAT WE
MIX SERBIAN AND ENGLISH… O mother, what an idiot … HA HA HA”
[posted 17. April 2010. u 12.02, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: USA: How do
you live in the USA? I am really interested?; translated into English]
Naturally the discussion about whether to return to Serbia or not to return also
creates vigorous debate. This is another dominant theme of this web
community, as we can see from quotations (22), (23) and (24).
(22): “…I personally have the wish to go back and hope I will in two years, if God
allows, and I wonder whether there are any like me, thanks!”
[posted 08. November 2009. u 21.27, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: NY:
Return to Serbia yes or no…; translated into English]
(23): “From experience, I returned from NYC 11 to BGD12 – do not come back!!!!”
[posted 26. November 2009. u 20.12, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: NY: Return
to Serbia yes or no…; translated into English]
(24): “You will return to BGD only if you are completely mad!!!!!!!...”
[posted 12. March 2010. u 07.43, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: NY: Return to
Serbia yes or no…; translated into English]
“belonging of doing” is a term from semiotics, meaning a type of belonging to a group that
comes from doing the same things. Those who do not do these same things are considered
to be outside the group.
11 New York City
12 Belgrade
10
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In most cases, topics of these types will bring about very long discussions
and opinions from all over the world, and then the discussion group will split
into two, i.e., those in Serbia vs. those abroad, “us” and “them”. Frequently a
discussion evolves into a very rough exchange, and many upper case letters
(shouting) in the written sentences in the postings. It is not rare that these
discussions end up with immigrants saying something like “thank God we
left”, thereby expressing a clear lack of loyalty, and those who remained in
Serbia replying “thank God we are free of you”.
Following Criterium 4, we counted the number of instances of self-perception
of being an immigrant. And, following Criterium 5, we looked for instances of
discussing the other emerging facets of immigration rather than their selfperception. Our analysis of the discourse among SERBIAN CAFÉ users resulted
in identifying 3 instances of immigrant self-perception, and 4 instances of
discussing facets of immigration. These form only a small indication of what
might have been expected.
4.7.3 THE LOCAL
The users identified THE LOCAL web community as an "immigrant site/forum".
The example quotations (25) and (26) illustrate that type of use. THE LOCAL is
used to discuss the traditional topics of immigrants, such as accommodation,
visas, jobs, administration, legal problems, salaries, emigration, citizenship,
retirement, investment, and cooperation.
(25): "Since you are posting on an immigrant site ...”
[posted 8.Apr.2010, 09:19 AM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden: The
Multicultural fate]
(26): "... I‟m an immigrant writing on a immigrant forum, and my intention is to
promote a debate on this subject, reason, as far I‟m know, forums like this
exist."
[posted 8.Apr.2010, 10:19 AM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden: The
Multicultural fate]
Starting with the insight that he is communicating via an “immigrant site”, user
(25) clearly provides a general feeling of the nature of this web community.
Users of THE LOCAL web community do feel as immigrants in a new country.
Here too, the topics of immigration and discrimination are again rather
frequent. Many times users of THE LOCAL end up in long discussions
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comparing the immigrant reality in the USA, Canada, and Germany, with that
in Sweden (see user 27).
(27): "The Swedish judicial system is openly racistic with 95% ethnic Swedes as
judges and lawyers. Swedish policemen are 99% ethnic Swedes and they
discriminate and persecute immigrants. Coming back to Sweden from UK I
was stricken by a photo of an immigrant with an arabic name saying
"Welcome to my city Stockholm". How ridiculous! They need photos! In UK
when you arrive at the airport you can see many immigrants or people with
immigrant descent working in the airport, all kinds of people with strong
foreign accents, women with muslim scarfs, sikhs with turbans working as
immigration officers."
[posted 18.Mar.2010, 11:08 AM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden:
Are we really racist?]
This quotation is just one of many on THE LOCAL web community site, in which
users discuss discrimination in Swedish society. Also, user (27) successfully
presents two sides of the coin, that is two sides of the Swedish approach to
immigration. On the one side there is a strong effort to present Sweden as a
tolerant multicultural society and “moral superpower” (Borevi, 2012), as this
particular user points out when referring to the welcoming photo. For many
years Sweden invested in building the image of a “moral superpower” or
“global conscience” (Becker-Jakob and Hofmann, 2013). Sweden was neutral
during the World War II, it sought to play a role between the two cold war
blocs that emerged after WWII, it is a welcomed mediator in many conflicts, it
invests a great deal to enjoy a good reputation as a poverty-fighting country,
etc. In contrast, immigrants in Sweden are aware of and frequently discuss
the silent discrimination of “foreign looking/sounding” persons, and the
multifaceted nature of Swedish social segregation (Kamali, 2006; Slavnic,
2008). The quotation from the next user demonstrates that at least this user
agrees. Yet, he is not explicit in stating that Swedish society discriminates
and persecutes immigrants as pointed out by the previous user. User (28) is
attempting to be more politically correct and he is saying that Swedes are
“inclined to discriminate”.
(28): "It seems true that Swedes are inclined to discriminate against foreignlooking/sounding persons."
[posted 18.Mar.2010, 11:43 AM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden:
Are we really racist?]
Furthermore, this discussion reveals and opens up the question of
discrimination in Swedish society.
122
(29): "As of Autumn 2010 it will be much harder to get into university in Sweden if
you are not Swedish....This actually goes against any EU mandate, in
sense the rules are being broken by Sweden and it is a form of
discrimination to us who are not Swedish. What are your thoughts on this
matter?"
[posted 26.Feb.2010, 12:41 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Swedish News:
Foreign Students discriminated against...]
It is clear that user (29) is giving an example of exclusion on the basis of the
citizenship of the immigrant. After realising that the tension and the need to
express discrimination are great, it is surprising that THE LOCAL web
discussions are full of posts that are highly negative about immigrants and
immigration in Sweden. We find it extremely interesting that such users are
full of passion to explain how Swedish society discriminates against
immigrants, their discussion is “hot” ‒ full of emotional tension. But in contrast
that same web community exhibits many posts which openly display an antiimmigrant mood, thereby creating a somewhat paradoxical situation to which
we refer as the “immigrants‟ anti-immigration paradox". Having in mind that
this is an immigrant web community, how is it that the community can behave
in a negative way towards immigrants? User (30) discusses the question of
anti-immigration.
(30): “I also think that in general Swedes are not so anti immigration as it may
appear. I've had discussions with people who welcome SD13 rising and
getting so much support, even though they don't welcome it or when
challenging the immigration fobia, they will say that they don't have a
problem with immigration in general. Instead it is some group they target
they hate against, like muslims who come from a culture which is alien to
Swedes. I think it is very easy to target them, because many of them have
an extremely hard time to integrate into Swedish society and end up on the
debit side of the welfare state and most Swedes cannot see how they can
ever cross over to the credit side.”
[posted 27.Dec.2009, 07:23 PM, THE LOCAL Disussion: Swedish themes:
News via The Local: Swedes positive about immigration: poll]
It is logical to assume that the "immigrants‟ anti-immigration paradox"
mentioned above exists because all immigrants do not feel the same in
SD – Sverige Demokraterna, Sweden Democrats, a far-right nationalist political party
whose increase in popularity has been compared to other similar anti-mmigration movements
in Europe.
13
123
Swedish society. Quotation (31) begins with the question and unravels a
discussion on the hierarchy of migration.
(31): “How British rate themselves here, Immigrants or Locals ??”
[posted 27.Dec.2009, 01:31 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Swedish themes:
News via THE LOCAL: Swedes positive about immigration: poll]
(32): “The question should have been asked differently because not all
immigrants are equal. If they had asked if European immigration to Sweden
had been beneficial the number of 'Yes' votes would have probably been
much higher. If they had asked if African, Mid-East, or South Asian
immigration had been beneficial to Sweden the numbers would have
probably been much lower.”
Quotation (31) makes a very good point, creating a hierarchy of the various
immigrant groups, asking directly for the British part of the web community
and how they rate themselves in Sweden, ”Immigrants or Local”. Apparently
those who are regarded most highly and have the best reputations, i.e., the
most desirable immigrants, are those immigrants from the USA, the UK, and
countries in the western EU. Many times these people are not even perceived
as immigrants from a Swedish society perspective, rather they are referred to
as "mobile professionals". At a lower social position are immigrants from the
south of Europe, but in the 1990s their number seriously decreased.
Somewhere on the same level as the southern Europeans are immigrants
from eastern Europe, and further down the social rankings come South
Americans, those from the Middle East, the Far East, and last of all dark
skinned, Muslim people. User (32) expresses the views of many users of the
way that Swedish society has split the notion of immigration in Sweden. THE
LOCAL web community is used mostly by the highest positioned immigrants,
and when they discuss further immigration to Sweden they become
"protectors of Sweden", speaking openly that they are strongly against more
immigration. Posts similar to (33) and (34) are not rare.
(33): “.. I feel and see all around that Sweden is getting to be a free home for the
Islamic extremists !!”
[posted 28.Dec.2009, 03:19 AM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Swedish themes:
(34): “Vikxxx, just to make things more complicated - in Uk, we have many
European migrants or workers, from places like Poland, Lithuania, Romania
etc, who are violent criminals, rapists, human traffickers etc. They are not
124
Black or Muslim. But they are in the EU. So they have freedom of
movement. Many of Poland + Romanis' most wanted criminals are in UK.
So it is also a question of poor immigration control and security, as well as
race and religion”
News via The Local: Swedes positive about immigration: poll]
From these quotations the reader can extrapolate examples of the
“securitisation of territory”, an attempt to protect their offline territory from
“poor immigration” and “Islamic extremists”. Also, it represents a valid
example of the transformation of the notion of immigration. Here, immigration
is no longer based only on ethnic grounds, but on religion as well, and those
who belong to other religious groups are depicted as being extremists.
One can easily establish that an immigrant‟s identity becomes fluid and
conditioned by their situation, or by the topic they are discussing (Boyd,
2007). If the topic is life in Sweden they will all be immigrants with traditional
problems, but if the topic is further immigration to Sweden, users who take
part in the discussion will all of a sudden split into two groups: an
immigrants/Swedes/native-English-speakers group and an immigrants/nonative-English-speakers group. The users of THE LOCAL follow mainstream
news, where religion is often the headline of items about the “war against
terror”, and they reproduce such news stories in their web community
discussions.
In order to evaluate KPI 3 we performed an analysis of the users‟ discourse
on THE LOCAL following Criterium 4 and Criterium 5. The analysis identified 3
instances of users‟ immigrant self-perception, which is a factor of
measurement for Criterium 4, and we identified 8 instances of discussion on
emerging facets of immigration, which is a measurement factor of Criterium 5.
This number is somewhat higher for Criterium 5 than in the SERBIAN CAFÉ
case, but here too the results form only a small indication of what might have
been expected.
4.7.5 Comparison of community identity and immigration issues
It is clear that in both web communities, member-immigrants feel
discriminated against and the topic of immigration creates a large number of
passionate discussion posts. The SERBIAN CAFÉ appears as one whole
community, which expresses loyalty up to a point. Depending on the topic of
discussion, participants in the discussion spontaneously form themselves into
125
groups. In the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ they tend to form a single group if
they are discussing their respective positions in their host countries. But when
they discuss whether to stay in Serbia or to leave, they become two groups.
The immigrant identity then splits into “us” (immigrants outside Serbia) and
“them” (who stayed in Serbia), or the split might be between “us” (those who
stay) and “them” (those who return). The “them” group are then those who left
and who now despise Serbia, and they show a lack of loyalty to Serbia. The
users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ exploit their web community as a tool that satisfies
their needs, to overcome some obstacles, and as a physiological workshop
where they can release their stress. We can also argue that the immigrant
identity is not constant, it is rather fluid, splitting from a monolithic “us” to a
polarised community of “us” and “them”. The quotations from “them” also
show a clear lack of loyalty to Serbia.
The case of THE LOCAL web community creates, to some extent, a similar
effect. As Harvie Ferguson (1999) explains, in the postmodern world all
distinctions became fluid and “identities, thus, are continuous oscillations”
(p.10). Many users shroud themselves in anonymity, with the result that we
often cannot be certain who is who. Therefore, and depending on the
situation, a user can switch between several identities. In one discussion
someone can be an immigrant, in another discussion they can be an
expatriate, in a third discussion a protector of Sweden with anti-immigration
opinions, so the users‟ identity is fluid, not solid. While “huddling in the
warmth of a shared identity dump of (or hope to banish) the fears which
prompted them to seek communal shelter” (Bauman, 2000, p.172), THE
LOCAL web community splits into two groups, pro et contra, as a consequence
of strong tensions created when discussing further immigration to Sweden.
This results in creating the "immigrant's anti-immigration paradox". In their
discourse practices, users reproduce middle class news stories, making the
discourse in THE LOCAL community sensitive to religion. THE LOCAL
discussions are employed by the community‟s users for promoting a
“securitisation of territory”, protecting Sweden from further
“Islamisation”, since the Islamic religion is associated, in many people‟s
minds, with terrorism. The “anti Islamist atmosphere” is so strong that users
who do belong to the Islamic religion never expound their religious
background in public. Instead they hide behind British and Swedish
nicknames, trying not to give away any clues of their offline identities.
126
Users of both web communities identify both of the web spaces we examined
as immigrant web communities, and therefore good spaces for discussing in
public their immigrant feelings, their self-perceptions and the ways in which
they are treated. We can argue that immigration is a cornerstone of the
creation of community identity. However, even though both of these web
communities are web spaces specifically designed for immigrants, and used
by immigrants, the immigrant identity is not expressed as a straightforward
and constant concept, but is rather fluid. Depending on the topic of
discussion, participants spontaneously gather themselves into one or more
groups and switch between several identities. In this way the immigrants‟
identity splits into more discrete levels according to the topic they are
discussing.
From the measurements of the KPI 3, in the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL,
we may tentatively conclude that the number of instances of Criterium 4 is 3
in the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 3 in THE LOCAL. The numbers for Criterium 5 are 4
in the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 8 in THE LOCAL. Based on these results, we may
provisionally conclude that the self-perception of being an immigrant is
expressed within the same range on both web communities (Criterium 4).
But, discussions on the emerging facets of immigration double the level of
attention on THE LOCAL (Criterium 5).
4.8 Indicator 4: Diffuse reciprocal activities
Users of both web communities live in their real world, solving real problems
in their countries of residence. They are immigrants who came to stay. A
contrasting group consists of the transit migrants, who come to work and
travel across territories and cities, and who go back home or move on to
somewhere else (Diminescu, 2008). Still, thanks to their existence in their
web community the immigrants easily jump over traditional borders, over time
and space, even over the limitations in their personal knowledge. Since they
are active users in a web community they easily come into contact with users
in the USA and Australia, they might talk with someone who is located 12
time zones away. As a result, and thanks to the Internet, users can become
friends with those who they will probably never be able to meet in real life.
These immigrant users owe a huge debt to the web because they are
empowered by having more options than those immigrants of former years
who did not have (access to) the web. These immigrant community users
also have at their disposal a greater variety of information and the possibility
127
to acquire new knowledge. Bauman (2000) introduced the term light
modernity, when speaking of the era of software. In the online world time and
space do not fulfil the roles they did previously, in the pre-software era.
Roberts (1995), while addressing the same effect of changing our perception
of space and time, introduced the term glocal this newly emerged simultaneity
(i.e. being in one geographical place and at the same time talking to someone
who might be as far away as on a different continent.) This term, glocal,
combines the global and the local, the universal and the particular. Appadurai
(1996) calls this a production of locality in modernity, while Bauman (2000)
discusses it in terms of the instantaneity of fluid modernity. The new era of
globalisation is a source of worry for immigrants (Appadurai, 2006).
Our world has evolved into a liquid modern world (Bauman, 2010), and is
continuously changing. We therefore have a need for more information than
we did previously, information about what is going to happen. Therefore,
living in a state of constant liquid change and uncertainty, we have turned to
the means of communication that goes beyond local time and space ‒ we
have turned to web communication, which connects us with global ideas and
perspectives in order to find help and exchange information.
Thinking about social relationships on the web, Williams (2006) introduced
diffuse reciprocity as a generalised set of norms of reciprocity, where users
give to others without expecting to receive anything in return. Discussing
Coleman‟s concept of social capital, Claiburn and Martin (2000) argued that
“people in social relationships issue „credit slips‟ to one another, representing
social obligations and providing some insurance against shirking ”. According
to Valenzuela et al. (2009), exchanges among community members are
based on community reciprocal activities where each individual contributes to
the welfare of others. In the following sections we present quotations that
describe generalised reciprocal activities of users in both web communities.
For the validation of KPI 4, diffuse reciprocal activities, we created Criterium
6: Instances of helping. This Criterium relates to helping other users, either by
offering help directly to a particular user or by having an answer published in
a discussion forum.
In subsection 4.8.1 we present the discussions from the SERBIAN CAFÉ. Then,
in subsection 4.8.2, we show the validation procedure of Criterium 6. In
subsections 4.8.3 and 4.8.4 we perform the analogous procedure for helping
others in THE LOCAL. Subsection 4.8.5 presents a comparison of diffuse
128
reciprocity in both web communities, and in subsection 4.8.6 we present our
conclusions for this section (4.8).
For this section we selected four quotations from the SERBIAN CAFÉ and two
from THE LOCAL.
4.8.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
Users are aware that they inhabit different geographical spaces. Therefore
they try to profit from their local experience, and by sharing that experience
with others they transform it into a global asset. The SERBIAN CAFÉ web
community is full of posts in which users compare their local experiences with
their earlier ones, debating where life is better, where to move next, etc. At
the same time as their personal local experiences are transformed to global
ones, the same process happens to personal experiences which, by being
shared in public, become collective assets. User (35) compares his local and
personal experiences of life in Florida with his earlier experiences when he
was living in Belgrade.
(35): “…and Belgrade is the centre of the world, [compared to Florida] even
though Belgrade has been tortured with sanctions and poverty from the
many crises that the city survived during the last 20 years. That someone
from the centre of Belgrade would really be very happy [ironically] to arrive
in Florida . . “
[posted 26. mart 2010. u 11.21, SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: Emigration:
Where one should emigrate?; translated into English]
With the next quotation the user (36) adds another quality to the same
discussion, reporting from his own experience as to what are the main
characteristics of life in Scandinavia.
(36): “..Scandinavia was always and will stay a peaceful place for life.”
[posted 26. mart 2010. u 14.00, SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: Emigration:
Comparing users‟ experiences from all over the world, we can see that they
profit from the global dispersion of members of their community and analyse
their options for their next move. For two examples, we refer to users (37)
and (38).
(37)“…What are the sommelier‟s salaries in the Americas? And what are the
possibilities to find a job? Thanks.”
129
[posted 13. March 2010. SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: NY; translated into
English]
(38): “Here is little bit of my experience. You must go to Canada, USA or
Australia. All other countries are in such a bad economic situation, that if
someone did not go to one of these 3 countries, it would be smarter for
them to have remained in the Balkans.”
[posted 25. March 2010. u 15.30, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Emigration:
Starting from Williams‟ (2006) recommendations for the measurement of
online social capital, in order to analyze Criterium 6 we examined helping
situations among users. In the SERBIAN CAFÉ we identified 26 instances of
helping14.
4.8.3 THE LOCAL
A similar situation is created in THE LOCAL web community where personal
migratory experience and professional experience are publicly discussed.
They became collective resources, available to all users. User (39) shares his
personal experience and expertise from the UK with the users of the web
community. He is making a comparison of the tax regulations in Sweden for
Swedish residents and for those who do not reside in Sweden.
(39): “ Because I am English and based in London, I had to get a 'non-residential'
mortgage - which I assume you will have to get unless you get a UK bankbased mortgage. The downside of having this non-residential mortgage is
firstly, the interest rates are slightly higher to offset the risk of a foreigner
defaulting and also, you will not be able to claim back the interest payments
from your income tax as Swedes can do (mortgage interest is non-tax
deductable in the UK)”
[posted 20.Apr.2010, 12:01 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden:
Should I buy house now or wait?]
In the next quotation, user (40) shares one of his personal experiences in
order to explain how the social system works.
(40): “I got my personal number. We contacted "Försäkringskassan", we got our
12,000kr and then some, because for our son's first year we were not
getting the "Barnbidrag". I did not even know about it until my mother-in-law
asked if we were getting it.”
14
If we deviate and count not only the quotations but also the examples of long discussions
(Appendix I) the number of identified instances on the SERBIAN CAFÉ would be 208.
130
[posted 9.Apr.2010, 03:30 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion Life in Sweden:
Pregnant in Sweden; translated into English]
Analogous to the measurement process of Criterium 6 in the SERBIAN CAFÉ,
we also examined helping occasions among the users of THE LOCAL. In THE
LOCAL we identified 25 instances of helping15.
4.8.5 Comparison of diffuse reciprocal activities
The web community users who we studied clearly acknowledged that the web
community is a suitable space for the exchange of experiences, asking for
help and offering personal expertise or experience as a potential solution for
such requests for help. These exchanges come as a consequence of diffuse
reciprocal activities in communities (cf. Williams, 2006; Valenzuela et al.,
2009). When a member of a community realises, after seeing several times
positive exchanges occurring, whereby other members of the community help
each other by means of public exchanges, he also wants to become part of
that exchange and offers his personal expertise in order to do so. As
mentioned earlier (subsection 4.6.3), trust and social capital are mutually
reinforcing. More trust creates more social capital, and more social capital
creates more trust.
A predominant characteristic of those we have studied is that people who
participate in both web communities and have good intentions try to help
each other. This creates a nice atmosphere, and gives a feeling of safety.
“There is someone who has been in the same situation before and he is
willing to share this information.” Thanks to sharing their personal
experiences, the so-called web-street economy, they transform their own
knowledge into a collective resource that each member of the community can
access. By sharing their local experiences and comparing them with global
experiences, their existence evolves in local-global simultaneity. This is how
members of both web communities, through generalised reciprocal activities,
transform the personal and the local into collective and global, making their
knowledge a collective resource.
15
If we deviate and count not only the quotations but also the examples of long discussions
(Appendix II) the number of identified instances in THE LOCAL would be 231.
131
Users of both web communities try to help other members by sharing local
information and personal expertise. When a user identifies that other users
have helped by sharing information, he becomes motivated to answer in a
reciprocal way and he offers help publicly. Helping others in both web
communities is a mutual activity, i.e., a diffuse reciprocal activity (cf. Williams,
2006). By transcending traditional barriers of space and time, and living in the
instantaneity of the liquid modern world (cf. Bauman, 2010), users of both
web communities immediately use personal and local experiences, and
transform them by sharing their experiences with a collective and global
community resource.
From the measurements of the KPI 4, we observe that for Criterium 6, we can
identify 26 instances of helping activities in the SERBIAN CAFÉ, and 25 in THE
LOCAL. From these results we may conclude that both websites are rather
similar with respect to diffuse reciprocal activities.
4.9 Indicator 5: Community engagement
As Granovetter (1973) points out, weak ties have a specific strength; they
provide the opportunity of benefiting from a wider spectrum of information,
and from knowledge that would not be available thanks to the strong ties.
One of the quite useful characteristics of software solutions in the web
communities is that all discussions are archived. Thanks to this, web
community discussions that gather knowledge about a particular topic are
organised by topics, archived and always available to users. Users can refer
to this knowledge, disregarding any disparity of time. This opportunity is
noticed and welcomed by all users. There are two immediate consequences.
First, they differentiate more important topics from less important ones; and
they continue adding content to the more important discussions, transforming
them into more reliable resources. Second, they address the appropriate
discussion in the archive when necessary. Using the technical characteristics
of web-based technology, web users intuitively upgrade the quality of their
social interaction, adding to it the accumulated knowledge, for example
collections of links to information on a particular topic. These users realise
that it is easy to use web technology to save and back-up the information that
they acquire from the web.
132
For the validation of KPI 5, community engagement, we created Criterium 7:
Instances of interactions concerning health, advice and fighting injustice. We
observe the way that the user‟s trust each other and turn to others for help in
health matters, other types of advice, or to fight injustice.
In subsection 4.9.1 we present examples of the discussions from the SERBIAN
CAFÉ, and in subsection 4.9.2 we discuss measurements of Criterium 7. In
subsection 4.9.3 and 4.9.4 we perform the analogous procedure for THE
LOCAL. Subsection 4.9.5 offers a comparison of the community engagement
in both web communities. Finally, subsection 4.9.6 offers conclusions for this
section.
In four examples taken from discussions from both web communities, the
SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, we see the number of posts in each of these
particular discussions. In these four examples they vary from 28 posts to 110,
and can stretch over several years. Clearly, users pay more attention to
questions of a higher importance, while being completely aware that the
technology that they use is reliable and can provide an archive of their
contributions.
4.9.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
In the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ one of the most prominent topics is
discrimination. A discussion on professional ethnic discrimination started on
8th February 2010, and lasted until 27th February 2010. This debate extended
to 64 posts, which signals that the topic caused vigorous discussions.
SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: Employment: Professional ethnic
discrimination – started 8. February 2010, last post 27.
February 2010, 64 posts
Beside discrimination, the problem of housing represents the second most
interesting topic in the world of immigration. Users need to address this
problem, so they turn to their web community in order to find the best possible
solution. A discussion on this topic lasted from 21st March 2010 until 21st April
2010, and the topic extended through 106 posts.
SERBIAN CAFÉ: Discussion: Emigration: Buy or rent real-estate for
living? – started 21 March 2010, last post 21. April
2010, 106 posts
133
Criterium 7 measures instances of help and enabled us to identify 170 such
instances in the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community.
4.9.3 THE LOCAL
Users tend to know what is happening where in their web community. They
are aware that the discussions are archived, and when a new user asks a
question on one of the important questions, the more experienced users in
that web community refer the new user to a particular earlier discussion. In
the following example the discussion on banking continued through 28 posts,
from 29th May 2010 until 3rd June 2010.
THE LOCAL: Discussion: Swedish themes: Finance: Handelsbanken
and nordea refused? – started 29.May.2010, last post
3.Jun 2010, 28 posts
An important topic in the world of immigration – that of obtaining a residence
permit and its waiting time, was the subject of a discussion that started 13
September 2009 and had 110 posts, with the final post being published on 6
June 2010.
THE LOCAL: Discussion: Swedish theme: Visas/permits: Residence
permit waiting times – started 13.Sep.2009, last post
6.Jun.2010, 110 posts
Even though SERBIAN CAFÉ users have a lower level of education compared
to the more highly skilled users of THE LOCAL, we see that archiving important
information is acknowledged by both communities and used equally by both
of them. This fact is quite important since it extends through many definitions
of social capital. For Coleman (1988), those social capital resources consist
of activities involved in archiving important information, which achieves
something useful for a group. They are resources accumulated through the
relationship that exists between a group of people. Bourdieu and Wacquant
(1992) define it as resources that accumulate by having a network. For
Putnam (1993) social capital resources are networks, norms or feelings of
trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for the benefit of the whole
community. Cachia et al. (2007) claim that the resources which make life
easier also play a beneficial role for health, education, public participation and
the realisation of economic opportunities. Combined new virtues create social
capital that enables the solving of difficulties (cf. Castells, 2000).
134
In the case of THE LOCAL, our analysis of Criterium 7 resulted in 138 identified
instances of help.
4.9.5 Comparison of community engagement
Judging by the quite high number of identified instances of help, we may
argue that helping others is one of the predominant activities in both web
communities. The process of identifying someone in need of help, and
offering them help, is the same in both web communities. Users create public
discussion lists where they state their problem and wait in the hope that
someone else might reply. Other users, in this case those who offer help,
identify a posed question during their time in the web community and offer
help by publishing the answer on the same list. In other words, those who are
helping do not have to be in closer contact with the user that published the
need for that help. Users help others as a community engagement, following
the general helping culture of the web community.
In many sections of this chapter we have provided examples of interactions
amongst users across the two web communities, where they access or offer
help or advice, or fight injustice (sections 4.5 - 4.9). They address the whole
community confidently with the expectation of finding advice, help or just to
talk to someone in a similar situation. The topics range from general
immigration topics such as visas, accommodation, language, the culture of
their host countries, circular migration, education, health, and kids, to
concrete legal problems, business offers, or even recommendations to third
parties (i.e. an expert) as a provider of a known solution. These users
accumulate knowledge according to the technical characteristics of the
medium they use (section 4.8 and 4.9). This is why important questions for a
specific community are saved, and users know how to refer to them if some
new person arrives and asks for the same or similar advice. The
accumulation of knowledge represents a clear example of community
engagement, which combined with the characteristics of web technology
becomes a predominant behavioural characteristic of the immigrants‟ web
communities.
From the measurements of the KPI 5, we observe that for Criterium 7, we
identified 170 instances of supporting others in the SERBIAN CAFÉ, and 138
instances in THE LOCAL. In both the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL this activity
135
is identified as an important interaction which frequently appears in a form of
reference (to a specific post) across many discussions. Judging by the high
number of instances, we may conclude that, without any external control, the
web community organises itself spontaneously and protects its community‟s
knowledge.
4.10 The division between bonding and bridging
Even though we identified the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community as a bonding
social capital space, and THE LOCAL web community as a bridging social
capital space, based on the theoretical armour outlined at the beginning of
this chapter, when it comes down to the actual praxis the situation seems to
be different. In the following subsections we try to reconstruct our findings
regarding a clear line of differentiation between the processes of bonding
social capital and bridging social capital.
In this section we will examine how users in both web communities use their
web space to make a direct connection to each other, i.e., to exchange
personal details or to refer to a third person. Following the theoretically based
concepts of bonding social capital, e.g., as a concept that connects people of
the same background and similar beliefs (see definition 1.5), and of bridging
social capital, e.g., concepts that connect people of diverse background and
beliefs (see definition 1.6), we analyse the users‟ discourses in order to
understand the division between the activities of bonding and bridging social
capital.
In order to do this, we present in subsection 4.10.1 five posts from the
SERBIAN CAFÉ, and then in subsection 4.10.2 we discuss the division.
Similarly, in subsection 4.10.3 we present four posts from THE LOCAL web
community, followed by a discussion in subsection 4.10.4. In subsection
4.10.5 we discuss the comparison between bonding and bridging activities in
both web communities. Finally, in subsection 4.10.6, we provide a conclusion
for this section.
In this section we offer five quotations from the SERBIAN CAFÉ, and four
quotations from THE LOCAL.
4.10.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
Users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community talk about topics that connect
them: a common background, language, Yugoslavia, civil war, religion etc.
136
They publish direct questions to bridge their concrete problems they
experience in their new society (how to obtain a visa, how to find legal help,
how to find a flat, where to move, how to buy real estate etc.). As a
consequence of sharing the same web life they become even more
connected. They exchange more personal details such as e-mail addresses,
phone numbers, etc.
(41): “Pexo contact me on my e-mail. I have a space in the middle of Belgrade,
perfect for an agency but I do not have experience. I am in the mood for
any deal. I am 34. Regards. [email protected]”
[posted 19. January 2010. 04.07, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Employment:
Start job from zero; translated into English]
User (41) publicly shares information about owning real estate, and indicates
that she would gladly use it for purposes that could mutually benefit her, as
an owner, and benefit some third party, should they make a “deal”. In order to
make this open business proposal stronger she states her age and the actual
place of her real estate, as well as her e-mail address. Some users publish
their personal details to make contact faster, for example in the case of user
(42), urgently trying to find an employee amongst the users of the web
community or their acquaintances.
(42): “I am looking for a girl, 19-30 years for working in café restaurant, 2-3
months in Canada. English is not necessary (domestic place ;-) it would be
good if she is communicative and reliable. Accommodation, food and visa
and return ticket are paid. Salary - agreement. Urgent!
[email protected] “)
[posted 19. February 2010. 10.11, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Employment:
Looking for employee Urgent!; translated into English]
User (43) answers a question about what kind of life he is living in a particular
part of the USA and the way one can find a job there. He is offering his help
and invites users who posed this question to call him before they make a
decision on relocation.
(43): “.. If you are interested, call me on 980 xxx 1640”
[posted 14. April 2010. 12.08, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Emigration:
Moving to denver (colorado); translated into English]
Users recommend real-estate agencies, doctors, lawyers etc. They even offer
some personal experience by recommending a specific contact and saying
something about that contact‟s background, in order to build a stronger case
137
to support the reliability of the contact. User (44) recommends a lawyer in the
USA who has a Serbian background. It is an example of when people make
direct contact with a third person through a web community activity.
(44): “.. He told you nicely, give money to the lawyer, here is our man
[email protected] he will explain you everything”
[posted 09. April 2010. 23.48, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Emigration:
Naturalization; translated into English]
Although users are normally quite direct when making recommendations,
they almost never use a public section of the same web community to
socialise in real life. The only example we could find of this is user (45). In his
comment this user leaves the reader with the impression that he has already
made contact, in the public section of the SERBIAN CAFÉ community, at a more
personal level, contact which gives some hint that it might lead to a real-life
offline event, for example meeting face-to-face.
(45): “…Hello Viloxxx3rd, you have guts and I respect that  If you are in
Toronto, I agree –let‟s have a coffee.”
[posted 14. February 2010. 13.49, SERBIAN CAFÉ Discussion: Employment:
Users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ employ slang. They do not hesitate to swear and
be direct. They behave as though they are sitting around the same table in a
café in Belgrade. When starting an analysis of the postings in SERBIAN CAFÉ
the tone seems to be somewhat rude ‒ too “loud” for people who do not
already know each other. But with the progress of time, when one becomes a
part of the web community, when one “meets” users and develops a certain
degree of familiarity with the general culture of the participants (cf. Shenton,
2004), one becomes somewhat relaxed about the tone. At that point the
users start to appear to be more like typical Internet users. So having a
presence in this web community gives one a feeling of familiarity, being
“among your own people”. Perhaps that is the explanation for the general
tone of this particular web community.
From their use of slang with their SERBIAN CAFÉ contacts we may state that
these users can be characterised as bonding users. And from the quotations
of the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ it is clear that, to some extent, while they are
bonding they are also bridging. In accordance with the definition of bonding
social capital we can conclude that, by having the same backgrounds, their
138
exchange of personal details should be perceived as a deepening of their
bonding activities. But at the same time they also bridge in the following way.
In order to help each other, to find new people to talk to, or to exchange ideas
or find a solution to some problem, these users bridge to third parties such as
doctors, lawyers, etc., asking these third parties for help in satisfying their
needs. The information and data which users obtain from these third parties
in the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community include: names, e-mail addresses,
telephone numbers, and real-life addresses.
We identified 8 instances of a user referring to a third party in the SERBIAN
CAFÉ discussions. According to our definition of a bridging social capital
activity, a third party is a connection outside the user‟s familiar circle. The
contact with the third party represents a bridging social capital activity.
4.10.3 THE LOCAL
The users of THE LOCAL, when compared with users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, are
connected with people who have fewer similarities to themselves. They speak
English and the majority of them are immigrants living in Sweden. As Amin
(2002) argues, multi-ethnicity in an environment does not have to result in
social breakdown. For understanding the dynamics of multi-ethnic
interactions, Vertovec (2007, p. 24) reaches out for Gilroy‟s (2004) term
conviviality, which is explained by its actual everyday manifestation
“cohabitation and multi-ethnic interaction in ordinary life”. Gilroy employs the
term to explain something that is actually happening every day on the streets.
As in offline multi-ethnic neighbourhoods, the immigrants create connections
on the web and employ them to address each other ‒ asking for help with
their everyday offline problems. When these users reply by providing a direct
address where help might be found, they do so mostly by publishing web
addresses. For example, user (46) is responding to someone‟s need for an
ultra-sound check-up in Stockholm. In this case the published data are the
web address and the part of the city where the recommended place is
located.
(46): “You can try this private practice next to Stadion tube station:
www.tittxxultraljud.se”
[posted 19.Apr.2010, 02:03 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Life in Sweden:
Getting an ultrasound before 18 weeks?]
User (47) shares their own personal experience and recommends a nursery
school for day-care in Stockholm. As mentioned above in the section devoted
139
to accumulative knowledge, users normally consider the sensitivity and
importance of the question when they reply. Here, since the topic deals with
child care, user (47) adds additional information about where the nursery is
located, what type of place it is, and what type of people are working there.
(47): “Check out: http://www.filiuxxxilia.se/ It's in Huddinge, not Flemingsberg, but
it's right near the train station. Great place, great people. My youngest went
there and I worked there a while.”
[posted 25.Sep.2009, 04:59 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Regional life:
Stockholm: English speaking daycare Stockholm]
The users in THE LOCAL community, without hesitation, refer to Swedish
institutions by posting newspaper articles and links to institution websites, but
it is rare in these posts to find e-mail addresses or phone numbers of a
recommended third party. Those who recommend seem to be protective
towards the third party‟s privacy.
The overall atmosphere on THE LOCAL for those who are there for the first
time, is that they appear to be more distant and they normally employ more
formal language. However, in messages that are posted there in order to
identify specific ethnic groups with which they wish to socialise, such as
South Africans and Americans, the atmosphere is more relaxed, their
conversations are much more direct, and they are willing to meet in person
and start exchanging personal data such as e-mail addresses and phone
numbers ‒ see user (48). This user asks without any hesitation for the
mobile phone numbers of other people in the discussion; the user‟s tone is
relaxed and direct. User (48) posts in this discussion in order to meet people
in real life, and since that is his purpose he finds it justified to publish his own
phone number and to ask for the numbers of others.
(48): “…Maybe one of you guys could send me your mobile number? just so that i
dont look like such an idiot if i get lost, or your not there! my email is
[email protected], and numeber is 0774xxx8018 ;-)
ciao for now”
[posted 20.Oct.2006, 03:14 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Regional life:
Gothenburg: Team Gothenburg]
With the evolution of web technologies the members of web communities
started using other software advantages in order to socialise more easily.
Today it is not rare that after one of the users proposes a meeting, the other
140
user starts a Facebook event and the two of them agree to move their
discussion to Facebook (see user 49).
(49): “Hi, I'm from SA - came here from CPT 4 years ago. I'm sure
the South African Society in Sweden
(Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28492987040) would
like to hear from you, and the Stockholm Expat Meetup group
(Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=321575880144) is also
great for meeting English speakers. Of course you'll become one of the
Borg once you learn the language, but until then there is enough expat
company  Cheers en sterkte,GD”
[posted 5.Jan.2010, 08:36 PM, THE LOCAL Discussion: Regional life:
Stockholm: South Africans in Stockholm]
In this post user (49) is welcoming another South African on his arrival to
Sweden. At the same time he is offering online resources for South Africans
and other English speaking expatriates in Stockholm. His welcoming is warm
and friendly. It is interesting and surprising to see how frequently THE LOCAL
web community was used to establish direct contact for socialising. Users of
THE LOCAL treat this web community as their social club and without any
hesitation start posts proposing new real-life meetings.
These users are aware that they have a different ethnic and cultural
background from each other, and most probably for that reason they are
more reserved. Nevertheless, they help each other, they talk, and they create
a community which serves their purposes to the extent that they find it
comfortable because it does not require much commitment. When they
access their web community so as to gather with others of the same ethnic
background, the tone of their communication becomes more relaxed, more
open, and more direct. THE LOCAL users try to nourish a relaxed relationship
with the community. They come and go when it pleases them, and they
debate, help others, laugh, and criticise.
Based on the definition of bridging social capital, users of THE LOCAL gather in
the bridging social capital web community. In parallel, all four of the
quotations presented in this section demonstrate bridging activity to a third
party. In other words, while being a group of weak-ties, when they exchange
personal contact details between themselves they bridge. But, when they are
directly referring to a third party, outside that circle, they simultaneously
deepen a bridging activity.
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The same quotations presented in this section (and other quotations in
Appendix E), show that while they bridge they help each other by creating
trust, sharing advice on decision making or fighting injustice, looking for new
people with whom to talk, exchanging ideas, and even performing offline
activities. All of these are indicators of bonding (Williams, 2006), so we can
say that users simultaneously bridge and bond. Indeed, as mentioned earlier
(see sections 4.8 and 4.9), in our analysis of the quotations from THE
LOCAL we have identified 163 bonding activities: 25 of KPI4 and 138 of
KPI5. According to a strict definition of bonding social capital, these actions
can only be identified as bonding.
4.10.5 Comparison of bonding and bridging activity
Users of both web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, make use
of the communication space within the web community in order to satisfy their
needs. Unaware of the concepts of bridging and bonding social capital
activities, which theoretically are strictly divided, the users mix both types of
activity. While bonding they bridge, and while bridging they bond. Therefore,
even though our scientific research analyses these two web communities
from different theoretical perspectives, the actual events in the real-life
existence of both web communities show that bonding and bridging social
capital activities happen simultaneously in both web communities. As
observers we must accept this, and as a result we must convert our
observations into in proper conclusions.
The results of analysis of the bonding and bridging activities of both web
communities indicates that the bonding web community (here the SERBIAN
CAFÉ) could be used for bridging social capital. Similarly, the bridging web
community (here THE LOCAL) could be used for bonding social capital as well.
These conclusions need to be verified in the final step of our research, during
the interviews with the users (see Chapter 5). However, at the present point
in our research, we may conclude from the results already obtained that there
is no clear distinction. It is not the case that in a bridging web community we
find only bridging activities. And vice versa, it is not the case that in a bonding
community users perform only bonding activities. They do both, bridge and
bond, at the same time. So the two types of bonding that are divided in theory
are not actually divided in practice, since both activities are identified in both
web communities.
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Unlike the users of SERBIAN CAFÉ, the users of THE LOCAL are generally more
reserved. They help each other, they give advice, but when it comes to
pointing someone in a concrete direction they prefer to give a web-site
address rather than the name of the person or their personal contact details.
However, users of THE LOCAL are more likely than those of SERBIAN CAFÉ to
socialise in real-life as a result of the chance encounters they make in the
community. In this respect the users of THE LOCAL are quite different from
those of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, where members of the community rarely socialise
in real-life.
4.11 An answer to RQ2
After the above bidirectional analysis on the two web communities, an
analysis in terms of bonding and bridging activities for the fostering of social
capital amongst their users, we are able to provide an answer to RQ2: Is the
acquisition of social capital from immigrants in web-communities a tangible
acquisition? We start by providing our conclusions in subsection 4.11.1.
Then, we discuss the validated KPIs and the tangibility question.
4.11.1 Conclusions on the KPIs and the division between bonding and
bridging activity
Below we present the results of our measurements of all 7 criteria and the
division between the bonding and bridging activity in both web communities
(see Table 4.19).
Table 4.19 Criteria for validation of KPIs and the divide between bonding and bridging
activity
KPI
criteria
#occurrences
#occurrences
in
in
SERBIAN CAFÉ
THE LOCAL
1
15
13
1
2
70
12
2
3
4
3
4
3
3
3
5
4
8
4
6
26
25
5
7
170
138
(all)
163
dividing bo activities
bo & br br activities
8
(all)
The numbers of instances are taken from the corresponding subsections
(determined by KPI 1 to KPI 5). We have included the results of dividing the
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bonding activities from bridging activities that are mentioned in the section
conclusions, namely that all users in the SERBIAN CAFÉ exhibit bonding
activities (by chatting in their slang language, for example), and 8 of them are
also bridging; while in THE LOCAL we counted 163 users also exhibit bonding
activities.
Below we formulate conclusions regarding the users of both the SERBIAN
CAFÉ and THE LOCAL. All these users actively interact in the life of their
respective web communities, and in so doing they have demonstrated
behaviour as recorded in Table 4.19, which forms the bases of our
conclusions.
(1) Community building
In section 4.6 we demonstrated that users gather in web
communities, mutually tied with shared similarities. When interacting
they employ the in-group pronouns “us” and “we”, to denominate their
feelings of belonging to a particular web community. In a similar way
these users build their feelings of community around shared topics.
From Table 4.19 we can see that, for Criterium 1, the ratio of the
number of instances of the in- group pronouns is 15:13 (15 in the
case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 13 in THE LOCAL). For Criterium 2, the
ratio of the numbers of instances of the shared topic of discrimination
is 70:12 (70 in the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 12 in THE LOCAL).
Based on these results we may conclude that the building of a
community, as expressed through instances of in-group pronouns, is
similar in both web communities, while the building of a community as
measured by instances of the shared topic of discrimination is
expressed much more in the SERBIAN CAFÉ then in THE LOCAL. All in
all the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ share strong feelings of
discrimination in their host countries. This conclusion matches the
theoretical perception of the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community as a
bonding social capital web community, a community of people with
similar backgrounds.
(2) Community norms and values
We showed in section 4.6 that a web community promotes specific
social norms that generate reputation and trust. Following established
community norms the interaction of certain users is seen as being
positive, and these users become known as “local experts”, or
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“information leaders”. Simultaneously, the users‟ whose contributions
are perceived as negative, i.e. not useful to the community, develop
poor reputations, and the community regards them as outcasts. We
may therefore conclude that positive reputations and trust are created
after a number of positive experiences. In such a communal system
of values, a web community creates a profitable climate for its users,
offering them the opportunity to profit from conviviality and from street
economy behaviour.
From Table 4.19 we see that, for Criterium 3, the number of
instances of roles played in the community, is in the ratio 4:3 (4 in the
case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 3 in THE LOCAL). Based on our results
we may conclude that community norms and values in both web
communities are created in a similar way. By being people in a
similar situation, viz. immigrants in a new host society, users of both
web communities face almost the same obstacles. Therefore, in both
communities, they look for the solutions to their problems from
experts and information leaders in the community that they trust.
(3) Community identity and immigration issue
The users of both web communities identify their chosen community
as an immigrant web community, and perceive themselves as
immigrants. Depending on the topic of discussion, participants in the
discussion spontaneously form into groups and switch between
several identities, thereby introducing a multifaceted immigrant
identity. In the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ the group immigrant identity
splits into “us” who remained and “them” who returned, according to
whether they stayed in Serbia or left there. In the case of THE LOCAL,
the expression of immigrant identity extends through a kind of
hierarchy. Starting from the fact that native English speakers do not
like the use of the term “immigrant”, since it has negative
connotations in the host country, users also differentiate between
themselves according to their country of origin, introducing a
hierarchy among immigrants‟ groups. The process of splitting into
different immigrant hierarchies is actually an expression of the
“securitisation of territory”, in an attempt to protect Sweden from
further “poor immigration”. In other words, the unifying group notion of
being an immigrant splits along religious grounds, as we have seen
from the immigrants‟ anti-immigrant paradox in Sweden (section 4.7)
whereby users wanted to protect Sweden from further immigration.
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Depending on the topic of discussion, users regroup, becoming
members of one of the hierarchised identity levels. In this way they
can create a clear anti-immigrant climate.
Examining Table 4.19, we can see that the ratio for Criterium 4, i.e.
the numbers of instances of self-perception of being an immigrant, is
3:3 (3 in the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 3 in THE LOCAL). The ratio
for Criterium 5, i.e. the number of instances of discussing emerging
facets of immigration, is 4:8 (4 in the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 8
in THE LOCAL). Based on these results we may provisionally conclude
that the self-perception of being an immigrant is expressed at the
same level in both web communities. But when we speak about
Criterium 5, counting the numbers of discussions about emerging
facets of immigration, it becomes clear that the formation of
immigrant groups into hierarchies in THE LOCAL created greater
tension between users.
(4) Diffuse reciprocal activities
In section 4.8 we showed that the users of both web communities
help other members of their web community without any expectation
of an immediate gain. In this way they create diffuse reciprocity
(Williams, 2006). By helping each other they convert their personal
expertise into a group resource, as they transform their local
experiences to global, communal assets of their web communities.
From Table 4.19 we see that the ratio for Criterium 6 (the number of
instances of helping) is 26:25 (26 in the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ
and 25 in THE LOCAL). The number of instances of helping in both
web communities signifies that web communities are identified and
used by immigrants as helping resources. By establishing a network
that transforms personal expertise into group assets, and transforms
local information into global assets, the process of diffuse reciprocal
activities clearly expands the helping capacities of immigrant web
communities. We may therefore conclude that diffuse reciprocal
activities are a useful and recognised asset among immigrants‟ webbased communities.
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(5) Community engagement
We have demonstrated that the users of both web communities
address their web community with the expectation of finding help and
advice, or to fight injustice, or just to find someone to talk to (see
section 4.9). The users of both web communities are aware of the
technical characteristics of the medium they use. Employing all
options offered by web-based technology, these users accumulate
knowledge by focussing on the discussions which are of high
importance to users. The accumulation of knowledge is a clear
example of community engagement, and it has become a
behavioural characteristic of immigrant‟s web communities.
The results from Table 4.19 indicate that the ratio for the Criterium 7
(instances of supporting other people) is 170:138 (170 in the case of
the SERBIAN CAFÉ and 138 in THE LOCAL). The high number of
instances here is proof that the predominant activity in the
immigrants‟ web communities is supporting other users, i.e.,
supporting the community. These users are aware that they belong to
a web community that deals with traditional topics of immigration, and
they employ the web space predominantly to give advice, to help in
fighting against injustice, or to support other users. By helping each
other through the use of the technological features of the web, for
example storing posts that contain information of special interest to
their web community, users express satisfaction and confidence in
the web as a communication and information medium. We may
therefore conclude that communication via the web community is a
successful solution to the problem of how best to support others.
(6) The division between the bonding and bridging activity
In accordance with the strict theoretical concepts of bonding social
capital and bridging social capital (see definitions 1.5 and 1.6), the
SERBIAN CAFÉ web community is defined as a bonding social capital
web community. Following the same logic, THE LOCAL is defined as a
bridging social capital web community. However, the users‟ activities
are not strictly divided into bonding or bridging. They bond and bridge
simultaneously regarding the nature of the web community. Those
who use the bonding characteristics of the SERBIAN CAFÉ also try to
bridge ‒ they reinforce their stronger ties, they use a “friend of a
friend” ties, and they might reach some person outside their normal
circle of contacts, i.e., outside of their original reach. Similarly, those
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users of THE LOCAL who employ their bridging characteristics attempt
to bond. They offer help to each other, give support, and in some
cases they even try to transform a weak link into a stronger link by
means of a bonding activity. We may therefore conclude that no clear
division has been identified between the bonding and bridging
activities.
4.11.2 Validated KPIs and tangibility
Bearing in mind that we defined tangible social capital acquisition as
characterised by the indicators listed as KPI 1 to KPI 5, we are now ready to
provide the answer to the research question RQ2. In brief the answer is that:
the acquisition of social capital from immigrants in web communities is a
tangible acquisition. As it emerges from the two immigrant web communities
which we have studied, the usage of both communities is motivated by the
acquisition of social capital. Users of both web communities build trust, and
through their online communities they help and give support to each other,
they find new people to talk to, they fight injustice, and they even employ their
online forums to organize offline activities.
The evolution of web-based technologies has allowed immigrants to identify a
new, user-friendly web tool, which they employ in the most logical way – to
get connected to those living around them, those who they have not met
before, in order to bridge and bond their social capital. In Chapter 5 we will
analyse how these users perceive their lives on the web.
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5 Offline effects for immigrants
In this chapter, we will investigate RQ3: What are the offline effects of
immigrants‟ online activities? When speaking about online and offline
practices, and how online activities affect offline life, there is always the
question of separation between these two realms. According to visionary
scholars such as Wellman and Haythornthwaite (2002) and Vertovec (2003),
communication delivered by digital media, internet-mediated communication,
and online practices cannot be separated from offline practices. Truly, as
shown in the literature, intensive online socialisation enhances close-range,
real-life contacts and ties (cf. Wellman, 2001; Wellman and Haythornthwaite,
2002; Jenkins and Thorburn, 2004; Ala-Mutka, 2010; Chua et al., 2011;
Gruzd et al., 2011). By becoming part of the daily routines of their members,
IT and web technology made considerable impacts on the immigrant
communities. Many scholars acknowledged that new technologies are
appropriated into the everyday life of immigrants (cf. Chen and Choi, 2011;
Lazzari, 2012; Chen et al., 2012; Oiarzabal and Reips, 2012). New
information and communication technologies take place alongside the
traditional ones. The relationship between everyday lives, online and offline,
is a tight one, and the boundary is almost non-existant. The new media and
communication technologies are at the very centre of the daily routines of
individuals. Therefore, it is logical that scholars show an interest in: (1) offline
effects per se; and (2) offline effects of online usage (cf. Oiarazabal, 2012).
Below we continue our explorative analysis of the SERBIAN CAFÉ web
community and THE LOCAL web community. We qualitatively study: (1) how
users perceive their web community activities; and (2) how their online
activities affect their lives offline. In section 5.1, we start by introducing key
concepts dealing with online and offline processes of identification and
community building and, within the community activities, we focus on the
concept of trust. We then move on to discussing the method used for this part
of the study in section 5.2. While doing so we deal with the position of the
researcher and its move from inactive lurking to active participation in both
communities. We continue by analysing the demographic data collected from
the interviewees, and we report in section 5.3 on how they discovered their
particular web community. Then we investigate the way in which community
building emerges (section 5.4). Subsequently, we analyse community norms
and values based on trust (section 5.5), and we look at the ways in which
community identity issues and immigration issues are perceived in section
5.6. Further, we register whether and how web users offer help to others
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(section 5.7), and how users‟ interactions affect community engagement
(section 5.8). Finally, we provide our answer to RQ3 in section 5.9.
5.1 The undeniable impact of IT on immigrants’ lives
When performing our analysis on the immigrants‟ web community, the
researcher and her readers need to keep in mind that the object of the
analysis is the core concept of sociology, viz. a group. In this case, it is the
group of people on the web. Talking about the ethnicity of members of such a
group with respect to our everyday lives automatically implies talking about
ethnic groups, or as Brubaker (2002) calls it groupism. He stated: “I mean by
“groupism” the tendency to treat ethnic groups, nations and races as
substantial entities to which interests and agency can be attributed”
(Brubaker, 2002, p. 3). Brubaker argues that “groupness” varies across and
within groups, and that ethnicity should not be reduced to groupness
(Brubaker, 2004). In order to grasp the effects of an immigrant‟s life online
and offline, we analyse the two web communities and their activities. Based
on a flexible understanding of ethnicity, we follow: (a) the SERBIAN CAFÉ, a
web community where the majority of users have the same ethnic
background; and (b) THE LOCAL web community where users with different
ethnic backgrounds are gathered.
Discarding the cliché distinction between online and offline life, Feenberg and
Bakardijeva (2004) argue that web communities either exist for pleasure or
they are functional. These two categories of communities may range in their
purpose from superficial fun and spiritual experiences to practically useful
exchanges, thriving in “clubs” where the subjects under discussion are
important to many members (cf. Jenkins and Thorburn, 2004). According to
Feenberg and Bakardijeva (2004, p.4) “users colonized a technical system in
order to increase information exchange, simultaneously implanting in it new
forms of human sociality”. In other words, web usage is driven by fleeting
interests, not by strong commitments. Furthermore, Ridings and Gefen (2004)
suggest that people join web communities to exchange information and/or
social support. According to Ridings and Gefen (2004), the usage of web
communities is driven by people‟s need to belong to a community and to be
affiliated. Social groups provide individuals with information and help them in
achieving goals, give them rewards, and support newcomers to obtain a
social identity based on the values of the group. Typically, a users‟ perception
of their own identity comes from self-inclusive membership, in particular from
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a web community. The question now arises: what are the offline effects of the
online activities?
Web communities are found to be particularly important for the process of
imigrants‟ adaptation in the receiving society (cf. Chen, Bennett, and Maton,
2008; Tufekci, 2008; Croucher and Cronn-Mills, 2011; Croucher, 2011). As
stated above, people have a need to belong to a community, which is a basis
for sociability, support, and a sense of identity (cf. Gruzd et al., 2011).
Croucher (2011) also remarks that the immigrant‟s usage of web communities
influences the perception that members of those communities have of the
host culture, to the extent that their communication begins to have an impact
on the members of the host culture. Studies show that a range of web
communities have been accepted as a means of social interaction and social
integration for a number of people and communities (cf. Haythornthwaite
2005; Quan-Haase 2007; Spaiser, 2012). People are increasingly using the
expressive Internet in ways that complement or further their offline
socialisation. Complementary usage has been identified by many scientists
(Wellman et al., 2001; Hampton and Wellman, 2003; Hampton, 2007; Harlow,
2012). Nowadays scholars generally acknowledge web communities as
resources for maintaining or creating new ties in the host society (cf.
Oiarzabal and Alonso, 2010; Reizu and Artexabala, 2013). Here again the
question is: what are the offline effects of the online activities?
The impact of the Internet on migration is undeniable (Oiarzabal and Reips,
2012). For instance, research on Ethiopian refugees in the UK supported the
idea of web spaces as a rich, helping resource for migrants in providing
opportunities for self-expression and community organisation. Life was a
struggle for the marginalized migrants. Still, web spaces are not exclusively
used by highly qualified migrants (cf. Georgiu, 2002; Khvorostianov et al.,
2012). Scopsi (2009) favours the same perceptive. According to her, usage of
the web changes the lives of migrants. It influences the users‟ perceptions of
space, and the relationships they have with their country of origin. Therefore,
these effects are examples of the offline effects of online activities. Now, the
question is: can we identify them precisely and properly?
To understand any societal communication and the potential change that
online socialisation might bring into the offline lives of the members of a web
community, we will focus on trust as a crucial concept (cf. Quandt, 2012).
This holds particularly when we analyse the scenarios where user-driven
content based on trust becomes a solution to some of the immigrant
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integration problems. In such cases, trust is accepted as one of the crucial
prerequisites of social capital acquisition (cf. Putnam, 2000; Morgan and
Swan, 2004; Williams, 2006; Parts, 2009). In online networked
communication the trust of a community is based on an accumulated
perception of the trust of the individual members, and consequently it is
accepted as such. Therefore, it is important to analyse the concept of trust
more deeply. For instance, according to Lu et al. (2010) trust is a major factor
that positively influences the prosperity of a web community, since members
of a web community are more proactive when they trust the community
environment and the other members of their community.
Moreover, trust is closely connected to communication and information. The
following analysis supports our interest in trust. While analysing a community
of twitter users, Gruzd et al. (2011) argue that people rely on Twitter in order
to connect to other people and to connect to information, confirming Ridings
and Gefen (2004)‟s conclusion that information is a valuable currency in web
communities. Gruzd et al. (2011) also argue that Twitter is a very good
example of how people use and adapt IT, both to form new social
connections and to maintain or even strenghten existing ones. They found
that web users keep in touch using different communication channels of IT, a
factor previously introduced by Haythonthwaite and Wellman (1998) as the
concept of media multiplicity. Openness to web-community newcomers, and
replies to newcomers‟ tweets, create a good atmosphere that Gruzd et al.
(2011) explained as trust, professionalism, and informality among the active
members of the community. “In this way, weak ties become strong ties, and
both weak and strong ties convey information – and connectivity – to and
from other social circles.” (Gruzd et al., 2011; p. 22). Therefore, trust and
openness are important drivers for a change in the feelings and behaviour of
newcomers, but can we also identify precisely the offline effects for
immigrants?
In this Chapter, we analyse users‟ perceptions of the effects that their online
activities, create on their offline lives. In section 5.2, we describe the research
methodology adopted to answer RQ3.
5.2 Methodology: online interviews
In order to talk to users and hear how they perceive their web activities and
the way that this activity influences their lives, semi-constructed, synchronous
online interviews were chosen. According to Reips and Buffardi (2009)
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Internet-based research is particulary useful in studying the behaviour and
ideas of immigrants. As a methodological approach, online interviews are
acknowledged as a useful resource for ethnographers (cf. Schaap, 2002;
Shoham, 2004; Williams and Copes, 2005; Campbel, 2006; Garcia et al.,
2009). According to Campbell (2006), what users write on the web conveys
important information about their identities, self-presentation, and the way
they define and perceive their world. Moreover, online interviews appeared to
be the best tool for conducting interviews of geographically dispersed people.
We remark in passing that the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ reside all over the
world, while the users of The Local are mostly based in Sweden. It would
therefore be quite expensive and difficult to organise a field study that would
follow the “gold standard” of face-to-face interviewing (cf. McCoyd and
Kerson, 2006). For this reason, our interviewing was conducted in the online
realm, using a tool that is familiar to web community users ‒ the Skype chat
tool.
The ethnographic study presented in this chapter is performed by analysing
material from direct online interviews, gathered from 12 users of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ and 12 users from THE LOCAL web community. The decision to conduct
24 interviews, which were held during the period from 1-9-2010 to 1-2-2011,
was driven by our wish to have direct contact with sufficient interviewees who
would prove important for our research. Since the nature of the research was
explorative, it was believed that contrasting 12 opinions on either side would
be sufficient to obtain an understanding of the immigrants‟ feelings and
behaviours, and to identify the prevailing offline effects.
It is important to emphasize that this stage of our analysis was designed in
order to answer RQ3, which is different from RQ2. In order to answer RQ2 we
analysed the tangibility of social capital acquisition in web-communities by
following the users‟ public contributions. Here, in order to answer RQ3, the
method differs. We analyse the offline implications introduced to the users as
a result of their online activity, and we do this by interviewing the users. In
addition, the people we investigate for RQ3 are different. We are now
performing direct online interviews with a completely new slate of users. We
further point out that this is a different type of observation from that employed
in Chapter 4. However, the topic of the immigrants‟ web usage is the same
here, only the research approach and the RQ differ. For reasons of
measurability and comparativeness we will use the same system of
measurement as we employ in Chapter 4, namely the five KPIs. Below, in
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subsection (C), we will present the themes of questions developed to unravel
the five KPIs for the research performed in this thesis.
For the preparation of the interviews we had to resolve three questions: (A)
the language to be used; (B) the communication tool; and (C) the question
themes. Below we first provide an overview description of how we handled
these three issues, and we then elaborate on them. We begin to focus on the
change of roles of the researcher. Once the researcher has spent twelve
months analysing particular web communities, (s)he becomes an invisible
part of it, with a great understanding of the particular communication culture
and interpersonal processes (see Baym, 2009). It is then quite difficult for the
researcher to find the best way to change roles, i.e., from being a member of
the invisible realm to becoming a visible agent in the community, particularly if
one is going to ask users to join the research process and take part in
interviews. Before the chat interview is conducted, the users were publicly
invited to assist with our research effort by becoming interviewees. Stepping
out from an invisible role to a visible one, from being a participant observer to
becoming an interviewer, to some extent creates a measure of resistance in
the users. Many researchers have reported such resistance from users (cf.
Chen, Hall, and Jones, 2004; Clegg 2004; Smith, 2004; LeBesco 2004;
Bakardijeva, 2005). However, those users who accepted the invitation to be
interviewed were informed in an email of the nature of the research project.
The interviews were conducted online, real-time, by using a chat tool (Skype).
Interviews with the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ were performed in the SerboCroatian language, and with the users of THE LOCAL in the English language,
at the times that were most convenient for the users. The formulation of the
questions was influenced by the outcome of RQ2 as described in Chapter 4.
(A) The language to be used
Which language should we use? The native language of each community is
specific. As scholars point out (cf. Mitra and Watts, 2002; O‟Sullivan, 2010),
every community has its own voice, in which members of the community
express themselves. In past decades, researchers stressed the importance of
language from the persepective of culture sharing (Beck and Geer, 1957).
Therefore, even if the researchers speak the same language and share the
same ethnic background of the observed community, it cannot be assumed
that the researcher understands exactly what another person, a member of a
particular community, means every time that she uses a specific word. In
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addition, while being in the role of community participant one can learn the
meaning of the words by analysing the content of publicly posted interactions
and conversations between users, but once the researcher changes his role
and becomes a visible interviewer, the chances for mistakes are greater,
since there is no time to check the understanding of particular words against
other interviews.
(B) The communication tool
A second task is choosing an adequate software tool. The SERBIAN CAFÉ web
community and THE LOCAL run on completely different software platforms.
These software solutions belong to different Internet eras. The SERBIAN CAFÉ
runs on software that was dominant in the 1990s (delivered as a combination
of first html + php software language possibilities + first CMS forum options).
THE LOCAL runs on much more sophisticated software (appropriating web2.0
approaches), and therefore it offers more options for users.
Technology influences research methodology in a direct way. The
appropriation of different technologies results in different approaches: if users
are only using forums and e-mail then those will be the only ways they can
manage to interact. However, if the researcher and the interviewees are using
different technological solutions simultaneously, a new space is open for the
researcher to find the best methodological solution. For example, the
researcher can take up contact with a future interviewee by e-mail. Then she
may interact in real time over Skype or any other VOIP (voice over IP)
protocol, and subsequently she may talk in real time while she and the
interviewee see each other. Thereafter she may use online survey software
for interviewees who are separated from her by a significant distance.
As mentioned before, the Skype chat tool was used for conducting the
interviews. The advantages of using a chat service with VOIP technology are
the following (cf. Hay-Gibson,2009).
(1) It is cheap – the communication is free, (PC to PC over Internet
protocols),
(2) It is recordable – chat is, by its very nature, already a record of the
conversation,
(3) It is user friendly – recording on camera recording was perceived as
a disadvantage by Hay-Gibson (2009), so in the case of using chat
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where there is no camera recording (which is what we did), the
participants did not feel nervous about being on camera,
(4) It is practical and available – all users were already familiar with the
tool.
Also, according to Hanna (2012, p. 241), “using Skype internet technology for
interviewing will keep both the researcher and the interviewee “in a „safe
location‟ without imposing on each other‟s personal space”. The anonymity
introduced by using online chat tools is therefore perceived as a positive
factor, since those who are interviewed are less concerned about the
impression they are making (cf. Riva, 2002).
(C) Question themes
Having in mind the purpose of the interviews, i.e. similar to previous research
studies that employed interviews as a research methodology (cf. Williams and
Copes, 2005; Lange, 2007; Hussain and Griffiths, 2009), we created question
themes for conducting the interviews. The themes identified during our
Internet-based ethnographic analysis (see Chapter 4) were used as the basis
for the interviews and were expanded upon during the actual online interview
process. The aim was to formulate open-ended questions that would motivate
the interviewee to expand on the topic under discussion (cf. Guion et al.,
2011).
In direct communication, i.e., our online interviews with the 24 subjects, it
would not be justified to look for specific instances that are in line with the
KPIs (see Chapter 4). In Chapter 4 we followed the users‟ public online
interactions. But now, since we were recording and analysing the outcome of
a dialog, i.e., an interview with a user, we needed to design a specific set of
questions. The questions were designed in order to offer the interviewee a
chance to speak about a specific topic, and to express their feelings (in line
with the KPIs) in whatever way they found most comfortable. We therefore
decided to categorise the questions and answers of the users of both web
communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, as follows.
(1) KPI 1 – Community building
- How did you discover a particular web community?
- Why did you use it?
- What did you expect from your activity in the web
community?
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(2) KPI 2 – Community norms and values
- Do you trust information you find?
- Do you trust informants?
(3) KPI 3 – Community identity and immigration issues
- Do you use web community discussions to be better
informed about your host country?
- Do you meet new people online thanks to your interaction in
the web community?
- Have you made important contacts online, outside of your
usual circle of friends or acquaintances, thanks to your
activity in the web community?
(4) KPI 4 – Diffuse reciprocal activity
- How does your online activity influence your offline life?
(5) KPI 5 – Community engagement
- Whom do you address with your questions most of the time?
- Do you use the web community to meet people in your real
real, offline life?
- What kind of information can you discover thanks to the web
community?
The interviewees were allowed to talk and express their views in their own
idiosyncratic ways (Baym, 2009). Following the general themes, sub-themes
evolved accordingly to the particular interviewee. The responses were
analysed with special attention to themes arising from the Internet-based
ethnographic stage of analysis. The responses were then analysed again: (1)
to check whether they contained any further relevant information; (2) to seek
contradictions in the data; and (3) to identify patterns in the data (Baym,
2009; Silverman, 2010).
Below we show with practical examples how we applied our methodology. In
5.2.1 the examples are taken from the SERBIAN CAFÉ interview procedures.
We describe how we approached the potential interviewees, their reactions
and their ways of answering. Analogously, we do so for the users of THE
LOCAL in 5.2.2. In 5.2.3 we discuss the discovery of the invisible layer.
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5.2.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
In order to publish a comment or post a question on the SERBIAN CAFÉ web
community, a user is first required to login. After a successful login, the
database recognises the user and allows him to use the web community.
That is all that the software offers to SERBIAN CAFÉ users ‒ a space for
publishing a comment or a post (see Figure 5.1). Therefore, in the case of the
SERBIAN CAFÉ, the researcher does not have any other way to make contact
with users apart from introducing herself openly to the community. In other
words, the researcher must become one of the users, have a user name and
a password, and publish her own status and intentions on some of the
available discussion lists. Since the software that runs the SERBIAN CAFÉ web
community does not support private messages between users (PM‟s),
publicly addressing the users was the only way to invite users to contact the
researcher by e-mail if they were willing to become interviewees.
Figure 5.1 The SERBIAN CAFÉ Publishing page
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We invited the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ to cooperate by publishing the
invitation for cooperation in the public domain of the web community. The
message was written in Serbo-Croat, the native language of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ web community. By openly approaching the community and by: (a)
avoiding the researcher-lurker role (see Chapter 4); (b) publishing our
personal details (name, e-mail); and (c) publishing the motivation of the
research process, we expected to create trust in the web community which
we were observing.
However, the users did not seem to be very pleased to “see” a researcher
amongst them. As mentioned earlier (section 5.1), once a researcher comes
out onto the stage, ceasing to hold a lurking position and instead taking a
visible role, some users will resent the researcher‟s presence. Below we give
the first reply by a user. It was publicly published on the discussion site (quote
116).
quote 1: “Obviously your research went down in W(ater) C(loset) if after so many
years in the “West” you haven‟t learnt the main rule in America, especially
in NY…TIME IS MONEY!!! Someone of us, immigrants should sit and
waste time with you for nothing… for “YOUR” benefit. Take a walk sister!”
[Translated into English]
As argued in the previous chapter, users are fully aware that the analysis of
their interactions will shape their reputation within the web community. They
actively participate in the reconfiguration of their multiple identities (cf.
Nedelcu, 2010). This supports the argument that, within social groups on the
web, immigrants renegotiate their identities in their relationships with others
(cf. Mitra 2001; Mitra, 2005; Elias and Lemish, 2009; Oropeza et al., 2010;
Jandt, 2012; Trandafoiu, 2013). It appears that immigrants renegotiate their
identities, not only: (a) to overcome traditional misconceptions; but also (b) to
“hide” if they have made an unpleasant communal coment. Therefore,
immigrants in the web communities can take the opportunity to be
anonymous if they wish to do so (cf. Panagakos & Horst, 2006; Marcu, 2013),
and by promoting their personal views (within private discussions) they can,
at the same time, interact in a positive and a negative way. The way in which
they will interact might depend on the topic of discussion, or on the identity of
the person with whom they are interacting. For example, a person might say
After the researcher invited the users to the interview, users reacted by posting public
comments. Examples of these comments are marked in the text by quote x. They are not the
quotes from the interviews.
16
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something in private conversation but take a different (and possibly more
politically correct) position when making more public postings.
Following a rough start to the interview process, it seemed that this method
was not going to give any useful results. There was a period of silence. Then,
suddenly, without any visible reason, the published e-mails inbox in the
SERBIAN CAFÉ discussions started to be filled with mails of those SERBIAN
CAFÉ users who were willing to take part in the research and to become
interviewees. Users‟ e-mails tended to be long and intimate. They wrote
about their immigrant situations, how they had become immigrants, and how
they had moved from their host country. The letters were open and emotional
personal stories. The fact that a publicly visible refusal can be transformed
into a personal-invisible acceptance introduced the idea that a collaborative
attitude is an important invisible activity.
5.2.2 THE LOCAL
THE LOCAL web community runs on a more sophisticated software tool than
does the SERBIAN CAFÉ. After the users have introduced themselves to the
system they can enter their private “Control Panel” section (see Figure 5.2).
This allows THE LOCAL users to use a personal mailbox, providing an option to
send and receive personal messages (PMs). Furthermore, they can
subscribe to discussion forums, they can track their messages, and so on.
Because the software offers more to the user, the researcher has more
options for addressing the web community.
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Figure 5.2 THE LOCAL users’ Control Panel
Here too, we chose to go public by inviting users of THE LOCAL to take part in
our research. The public disclosure by the researcher led to a long
discussion. In general the users criticised the researcher‟s work, the manner
in which they were approached, and they offered other, and in their views
better solutions for conducting the interviews. It was also clear that they were
worried about their privacy, cf the following quote (see quote 2).
quote 2: “I think that you are going about this the wrong way… First, you send out
unsolicited PM's to The Local members (I got one last Friday) which read a
bit like a spam email, and then start this thread under Stockholm which is
not really appropriate. Then you try to get members to email you so that
you can send them a questionnaire, which then takes away any anonymity,
which is mistake number 3. You can not expect people to part with personal
information to somebody they do not have a clue about to a Yahoo email.
The best way to get information would be to setup an online survey and
post the link so that people can go online and answer and maintain
privacy.!”
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After a few public debates on the research methodology, and in particular on
the issue of privacy, some of the users accepted our invitation to become
interviewees. They used a private - invisible way to contact the researcher by
sending e-mails with their Skype names. Unlike the users of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ web community, the users of THE LOCAL did not send long e-mails with
their personal stories. They were more distant, as though they understood
that they were involved in a professionally conducted interview.
In private and direct communication with the researcher there was no trace of
hostility or bad manners. The atmosphere for communicating was completely
different from the publicly visible one. Users were quite polite, cooperative, in
the mood to talk. Moreover, as the interviews progressed it seemed as
though the interviewees were looking forward to sharing their thoughts on
their lives in the web community. The interviews also revealed another
dimension of web community life, much different from the earlier expectations
and much more subtle than the observer can identify by analysing only
publicly published posts.
5.2.3 The discovery of the invisible layer
When users started to reply positively to the invitation to cooperate - an
invisible event performed behind the public space of the particular web
community - we realised that, in general, positive replies would come from
people other than those who, in their public discussions on both web
communities, were against both the research itself and the researcher (see
above and Chapter 4). This is an interesting observation, which may indicate
that the responses are biased in some way. What happened is that a positive
replier started sending emails or chat messages to the researcher, and so
they became visible in some sense. In this first contact they had mentioned
that they were following the public discussion but did not wish to take part in
it, but now they were willing to help the research.
Web spaces for communication are usually conceptualised between those
who post and those who interact and create replies etc. The web community
ecosystem also comprises some visitors who never post or discuss anythng.
This non-interactive passive behaviour is called lurking (cf. Mitra, 1997;
Burnett, 2000). Many scholars have tried to determine the percentage of
lurkers in a web community. According to those who published such
percentages in the 1990s the percentage sometimes even reached 90% (see
Katz, 1998; Kraut et al., 1992; Rafaeli and Sudweeks, 1997; Stegbauer,
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1999), while those who published in the 2000s and later claim that the
percentage reaches 50-60% (see Nonnecke, 2000; Soroka et al., 2003). This
big difference in the percentages of lurkers, between the results from the
1990s and those collected from the 2000s, can be seen as a transformation
of some users from lurkers to contributors, probably because of the new
web2.0 technology. Still, the number of lurkers in a web ecosystem is
significant and should not be neglected.
Ignoring the lurkers would be a logical systematic error. Bearing in mind that
data for analysis can only be that which is made visible, for example what is
published (see also Chapter 4), the researcher is not able to identify the
existence of something which is invisible. The prevailing question is: How to
identify the user who is present but only as a reader, or someone who rarely
gives any comment? By employing only a quantitative research method it is
impossible: (a) to identify activities that exist in the space of exchanging
private messages; or (b) to identify lurkers. This is why, in the analysis of
web-based social networks, research must be managed by employing
different methods of data collection. If one wants to argue that a rather
complete analysis of a web community is being carried out, then the
completed analysis must combine quantitative and qualitative analysis. The
results obtained in the intersection of different approaches will, in our opinion,
give an accurate picture.
After the first interviews the importance of the invisible layer of support was
acknowledged. The majority of our interviewees said that they combined
lurking and public contributions in their web communities. Nevertheless, some
of the members who were also our interviewees said that they were only
lurkers. According to some of the interviewees‟ private letters sent to the
researcher, the members who are invisible at first sight influence the life of
the web community using invisible ways of communication ‒ participating in a
more subtle way. Perhaps they communicate less loudly than those who are
visible users but using private messages, only reading and analysing the
content etc. Yet, even though invisible, they exist, and they are willing to talk
and help in their own ways, specific for their invisible layer of existence.
According to Zhang and Wildemuth (2009) quantitative analysis is deductive
(and is conducted to test hypotheses against theories), while qualitative
analysis is mainly inductive (and is intended to explore the topics and to
examine specific issues). In order to avoid the non-compatibility of both
approaches (cf. Blommaert and de Vijver, 2013) and to profit from both
approaches, combining quantitative and qualitative methods (observing
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users‟ posts, and interviewing users), proves to be a satisfactory way to
analyse complex systems such as web ecosystems. This combined
approach, where the object of research is relevant to both analytical
approaches, can discover new behaviours that may generate a new theory. In
this study, due to a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the
invisible layer of immigrant communication was detected, and became an
additional help to our research.
5.3 Demographic data of the participants
The demographics of the 12 users from each of the two web communities
correspond to the demographic data presented in Chapter 4. Below we
discuss the data in detail.
5.3.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
Users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ were mostly male, Serbian, born and raised in exYugoslavia, now living in Western Europe (Germany, Sweden, UK, and
Iceland) and North America (USA and Canada) and are 18-44 years old.
However, unlike in Chapter 4, the interviewees were more educated; on
average they had a higher level of education than high school. It seems that
the automatic tools for the demographic analysis of web sites (ALEXA in the
case of Chapter 4) are not sensitive to recent changes in the users‟ statuses.
In most cases users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ icompleted some years of education
in their new host countries, so that their average education level at the time of
the interview was college education.
The specific name of the web community, the SERBIAN CAFÉ, is by definition
an inviting environment for Serbian people. Nevertheless, bearing in mind
that the majority of people from former Yugoslavia speak the same language
(even though, after the wars in the 1990s, we witnessed the emergence of
five to six different languages as by-product of the nation building processes)
the SERBIAN CAFÉ is also a forum for some people who are not of Serbian
origin. But due to the tense relationships between members of the different
former-Yugoslav nationalities after that war, the non-Serbian people who visit
the SERBIAN CAFÉ seem to keep their silence, or perhaps we should say that
they remain invisible.
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Here is what one Muslim visitor reported after he did not receive a reply to his
mail for a few days (quote S7-117).
quote S7-1: “Hello! Yes, I am relieved that you replied. Few days passed without
a reply, and I never doubted your story, but in one moment I thought that
maybe you do not want help from me….after all that happened in our
country there are prejudices…. I am glad that I was wrong ” [Translated
into English]
There has been an extensive debate in the media about the representation,
or rather the underrepresentation, of immigrants. In recent years this debate
has resulted in the topic of “visible minorities” being raised in the political
arena (see Rigoni, 2009; Walton-Roberts, 2012; Tastsoglou and Preston,
2012). Commenting on the way that Muslims are portrayed as “alien others”
in the British media, Saeed (2007) suggests that this misrepresentation is
linked with racism, calling it “Islamphobia” (cf. Saeed, 2012; Moten, 2013; elAswad, 2013). Similarly, Muslims and Serbs from former Yugoslavia have
suffered from the same additional burden since the wars in the 1990s.
Therefore, many users from former Yugoslavia are particularly cautious when
communicating with someone new. For example, the interviewee responsible
for quote 3 stated that he does not publicize his ethnicity since he knows it
would not be welcome. Instead, with the safety of his nickname, he takes the
same advantage of the web community as any other user. Knowing that their
identity is an essential factor for others to use when evaluating their
interaction, immigrants often use their web community existence to
“renegotiate” their identities (cf. Mitra, 2001; Oropeza et al., 2010; Jandt,
2012; Trandafoiu, 2013) and use an identity that best suits the particular
situation.
Conversely, some interviewees “felt” the presence of non-Serbian people and
reacted to it in a negative way (quote S8-1).
quote S8-1: “I do not know are you aware of it, but on the SERBIAN CAFÉ there
are many other [non-Serbian] nations that hate Serbians, and want to
destroy the website and to set us at odds” [Translated into English]
The quotes in the text are indexed by SX-Y. The letter S stands for the users of the
SERBIAN CAFÉ, number X (from 1-12) is an ordinal number corresponding to the interview,
and Y is the ranking number of quotes used from a particular interview. The same system is
used for indexing quotes from THE LOCAL users‟ interviews (LX-Y). For example S5-1 stands
for 1st quote from the 5th interviewed user (S5) of the SERBIAN CAFÉ.
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5.3.2 THE LOCAL
The demographic data of interviewees corresponds exactly with the data
presented in Chapter 4. A majority of THE LOCAL users are male with high
educational levels; they come from the UK and North America, plus quite a
few from the EU. The majority resides in Sweden and are between 18 and 55
years of age. In most cases they are native English speakers, and therefore
English is the predominant language of communication in this web
community. In the case of THE LOCAL, those who accepted to be interviewed
were comfortable speaking in English and did not express any conflicting
feelings about their different backgrounds.
5.4 Community building
In this section, we discuss the users‟ reactions to the ways they arrived at a
web community and their motivations for joining in. Twelve users explicitly
report how they used each of the two web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ
and THE LOCAL, to obtain information. They focus on: (1) how they arrived at
their chosen web community; and (2) why they used it. In this section, we will
address the users‟ answers on theme 1, viz. Community building (section 5.2
(C): question themes). The manner in which we reproduce the quoted texts is
described in a footnote in subsection 5.4.1.
5.4.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
Eight (out of 12) users reported that they started to use the SERBIAN CAFÉ due
to the recommendations of other users. They were recommended by cousins
living in some other country, or by friends who used this website when they
needed similar information, or by acquaintances in their host country who had
used it during the period after their arrival. Most of the users were looking for
information about their host country when preparing their move from their
country of origin, or when they arrived in the host society. Using immigrants‟
web communities as a tool for preparing them to leave their country of origin
is an important characteristic of immigrant web communities that directly
influences the migration pattern. Thus the web community becomes a
migratory tool. For example, here is a statement by user S5 (quote S5-1).
quote S5-1: “I started using the SERBIAN CAFÉ when leaving Belgrade was
certain, and when I started to search the information about the country I am
going to move in.” [Translated into English.]
This user is making a clear statement about using the SERBIAN CAFÉ as a
migratory tool. From this and similar observations, we can confirm Nedelcu‟s
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(2010) argument that prospective immigrants tend to follow the experiences
of current immigrants and make their new decisions based on those
experiences. In the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, the interviewees become users
by word of mouth, normally via elderly users who network with people similar
to themselves for the practical purpose of exchanging information, as for
example in quote S11-1.
quote S11-1: “My motivation was to make a contact with people I do not know,
but who are similar to me. I was looking for those who feel a need for
communication, a need for information exchange, and exchange of
personal experiences. ” [Translated into English]
The users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ identified two main reasons which motivated
them to use this particular web community: (a) to find information about a new
society (practical information); and (b) to establish some new contacts ‒
people with whom to communicate or to provide psychological support. All
interviewees mentioned one of these reasons and the majority of them
referred to both. Users generally describe their start in their new societies as
difficult, silent, and sad. Without knowing the language and the rules of the
local administration, and without friends, they turned to the web to find
someone.
quote S1-1: “I wanted to meet new people. To find people that will give me the
information about what I need to survive on “the other side”  .. Today I
would say because we are speaking the same language, this is why I
looked for our people on the net… to give me the information, to tell me
WHERE to go to enrol, and WHERE and HOW one looks for the job when
you are a student” [Translated into English]
User S1 in quote S1-1 reports that he used this web community for the
purpose of meeting new people and finding information about life in his new
society. Newly arrived immigrants mostly search for the answers to the five
most important immigrant questions: accommodation, job, administrative
help, legal help, and health issues, as for example in quote S7-2.
quote S7-2: “I tried to obtain some first-hand information, where to find a job,
where to look for a flat, what are the costs and similar…Because I didn‟t
know many people. Also, because I wanted to help those who are in similar
situation, like me, who do not have any other way to obtain to these
information” [Translated into English]
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In quote S7-2, the user states that he was using the web community to find
“first-hand information” on how to find a job, find a flat, to compare prices, and
at the same time to offer help to other people in a similar situation. Many
users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ used it when they decided to move, or when they
had just arrived in their new host society, and consequently they mostly
asked questions about their place of arrival. They showed some awareness
of their new position: they talked about lacking local contacts, local
knowledge, and even about having no command of the local language. With
that awareness, they approached the SERBIAN CAFÉ community as a local
information database. They aimed to address someone in the SERBIAN CAFÉ
who knew how things can be managed, both: (1) when the user was
preparing to move; and (2) when the user had already arrived. For example,
user S8 in the quote S8-2, describes the SERBIAN CAFÉ as a resource of
valuable information (about visas, citizenship, and taxes).
quote S8-2: “There [on the SERBIAN CAFÉ] are always advices what and how to
do! Do you understand me? About visas, getting citizenship, the tax
decrease...you can find many useful information, you just have to search for
them” [Translated into English]
As newcomers, users typically post questions that worry all newcomers,
knowing that in the SERBIAN CAFÉ they are among local people who have
arrived in their nw host country from all over the world.
quote S4-1: “I looked for the salary info, rent, prices of food, taxes, life expenses,
electricity bills, water, plane tickets..” [Translated into English]
In the quote S4-1 above, user S4 reports that he used the SERBIAN CAFÉ in
order to learn about the salary he could expect to earn, about living
expenses, and even about flight tickets. In the case of immigrants who are on
the move again, i.e., looking for a new host country, nowadays they employ
the immigrant web community as an information resource to take them
beyond national borders and to offer them insights into what they might
experience far away from their present place of residence. In this way, users
take advantage of their deterritorialised social lives, and place themselves in
the position of a global-player by collecting and comparing different
experiences, which helps them in their decision-making processes.
quote S4-2: “I use to read the news, recipes, and sometimes I use a forum to find
information… information, experience exchange… for example, what is the
life-style in some other country, health care, relation between the salary and
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the reality.. I compare it with the country where I live, since I realized that I
do not belong here, I want to find out where to go next… you can find
almost everything you need.” [Translated into English]
User S4 in quote S4-2 compares the quality of life in other countries with the
life in his host country in order to prepare for his next move. At the same time,
this user expresses his personal feelings of “not belonging here”, and shares
his experience of his current host country.
In the scientific debate of the last decade, and thanks to the effects of IT on
the life of immigrants, they are optimistically referred to as “connected”
(Diminescu, 2008), cosmopolitan migrants, and “global players” (Nedelcu,
2010). Immigrants live a “global” way of life that starts with a “deterritorialised”
social life (see Vertovec, 2001; Hassan 2012). They often lack a sense of
belonging to their new host society but instead have a feeling of a
continuously on-going mobility. In scientific research this feeling is observed
in a large number of people who are not rooted in one place: they revitalise or
reconstruct their traditions and political ideas within any host society,
disregarding the territories from where they have come (cf. Schiller et al.,
2006) and making themselves “long distance nationalists” who consciously
feel that they belong to several geographic spaces simultaneously. That
specific form of belonging is reactivated and intensified by the extensive
usage of IT (cf. Scopsi, 2009).
Relationships between users with the same ethnic background are
multifaceted, which results in the effects of membership of the community
growing beyond the value of a mere provider of information. At the same time
such users create a system of conduct as well as mechanisms for dealing
with those who violate the established norms of the community (cf. Portes
and Sensenbrenner, 1993; McLaughlin and Vitak, 2012). Once they are in a
position to help other immigrants, having the same ethnicity represents the
social glue binding such users. The reasons for this are that: (1) immigrants
tend to increase the opportunities of their own ethnic group (cf. Waldinger,
1998); or (2) they rely on each other as a substitute for the social support
normally provided by a family (cf. Nannestad et al., 2008). Therefore, newly
arriving immigrants use the SERBIAN CAFÉ as a good place to address others
in similar situations to themselves, in order to find help in their mother tongue.
In this way, the obstacle created by the fact that some of them do not speak
the language of their host society was overcome by seeking help online in
their mother tongue community. When describing their lives and needs in the
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SERBIAN CAFÉ, many immigrants expressed a strong desire to share their
anxiety, loneliness, and experiences. Clearly they were looking for any kind of
support, and sometimes, if nothing else occurred, they used their anonymity
to vent their anger at being in a powerless situation for so long, as for
example in the following quote (S6-1).
quote S6-1: “It is like emptying yourself, psychological faucet…you arrive, find
some “victim”, you do not know him, you either laugh or wine, and you
sleep calm… I am using it to kill some time and talk to someone when I do
not have anyone in my real life.” [Translated into English]
User S6 in quote S6-1 describes his usage of the web community as a space
for sharing his anxiety, loneliness, and desire to communicate. For this user,
communication in the web community fills the void created in his real life. In
some cases users stay connected to the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community,
looking for information about local cultural events on a local discussion list.
5.4.2 THE LOCAL
There are two ways in which visitors to THE LOCAL typically became users. In
the majority of cases (the dominant way) it happened by searching for
information about Sweden, while in other cases (a lesser but still considerable
number) by following a recommendation from a friend who lives or used to
live in Sweden. Many users discovered THE LOCAL for the first time as a result
of a casual search for information on Google (e.g., quote L1-1).
quote L1-1: “I was searching for jobs online so typed in english speaking jobs
sweden and it came up”
THE LOCAL network grew in a similar way to the SERBIAN CAFÉ. People arriving
in Sweden receive a recommendation from “old” users to come online and
look for answers to their questions. The users of THE LOCAL search for
English language information about what is going on in Sweden ‒ practical
information; and they try to find people with whom they can communicate
and, if possible, socialise. Based on the content and dynamics of their
discussions, users become aware that they are among others with different
experiences or different lengths of stay in Sweden. They address the
community with a variety of questions, typically about practical information
(see the quote L3-1 below). Examples range from applying for and obtaining
visas, obtaining information about local laws such as civil rights, local
administration rules and taxes, and about the job market, the real estate
market, cultural differences, norms and climate characteristics.
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quote L3 -1: “I got more involved with the local for personal use when I
discovered the “discuss” feature. I discovered that there were a lot of
people out there who were going thru the same adjustments of living in a
foreign culture as I had experienced. I became intrigued and it functioned
for me as an interesting cyber community.... but I mostly use the discussion
forum where the information varies a lot but can be most useful for practical
things like getting a drivers licence etc”
Understanding and then adopting the cultural norms of the host society, as
well as learning the language of the host-country, are part of the sociocultural integration process (cf. Vermeulen and Penninx, 2000; Penninx,
2005; Georgiou, 2006; Bailey et al., 2007; Elias, 2008; Ersanilli and
Koopmans, 2010). No matter what kind of difference exists between the
tendencies of different nationalities and their approaches to integration, it is
important for immigrants who are on the road to integration to communicate
with their host society and to comprehend new cultural norms. Intuitively and
practically, immigrants are aware of the importance of the appropriation of
cultural norms. To discover and understand how things work in their new
society, they rely largely on the experiences of other users who have lived in
Sweden for longer than they themselves have done.
quote L3-2: “Information about cultural norms from expats who have lived here
long term is useful. For example, I found out that it is frowned upon to drink
alcohol during the week. This clarified to me why I got bad vibes off
neighbours in my building after I had invited them in on a week night and
offered alcohol with the food. I found out from other posters that is totally
acceptable on Sat. is taboo on Wednesday! Another example is if you do
land a job it is VERY important to attend all coffee breaks which are quite
formal and organized. It is actually more important than the work you do as
social interaction is. Other practical information that one can find is simply
how to deal with the bureaucracy in Sweden which is quite complex”
User L3 in the quote L3-2 describes his experience of appropriating cultural
norms over THE LOCAL as being useful. A few interviewees reported that,
thanks to their discussions on THE LOCAL, they were now thinking about
buying a property instead of renting one. They analysed the contents of posts
on the discussion list for real estate, and obtained a new perspective that led
them to think about taking advantage of the present situation, both in terms of
bank loans and the real-estate market. They found the information on THE
LOCAL to be quite useful, since there are not so many places where they
could find such assistance in the English language.
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quote L2-1: “some regular questions and topics that could be of interest around
housing, driving, and things concerning foreigners in sweden, the cultural
mishaps or differences. .. something about dealing with it... equally i am
now exploring buying instead of renting and there is a whole selection of
articles etc. on the topic with the bank i found useful a good few weeks ago”
The quote L2-1 shows how people use THE LOCAL for questions about
housing, driving and cultural specifics. By using THE LOCAL for information
about the local cultural norms, the local economy, the housing market, legal
processes etc., immigrants move one step closer to understanding and
adopting those norms, and therefore to integration into their new society.
Many users indicated clearly that they feel a great need to socialise and that
they use THE LOCAL for that reason. They describe their life in Sweden as
being not so easy when they want to talk to someone. In addition, they
expressed their need to be in contact with others who are in a similar situation
(see quote L7-1). As for the interviewees of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, having the
same native language works like a kind of social glue. Vertovec (2004)
argued that cheap mobile calls are the social glue of migrant
transnationalism. We believe that currently web communication plays the
same role. When being in their new host country, without the knowledge of
that country‟s language, the best way to ask for help or to socialise is by
using one‟s native language via cheap means of communication.
quote L7 -1: “To socialise and ask questions about living in Sweden. because
everyone needs interaction with others in the same circumstances (expat). I
have tried to find some friends or contacts not on Swedish language”
User L7 in the quote L7-1, states clearly that THE LOCAL helps him to manage
questions about living in Sweden and to communicate with others in a similar
situation. Even though the users never stated explicitly that they need some
psychological support, in an implicit way it is clear that using THE LOCAL helps
them to share some of their more frustrating experiences. This might be
because they have a lack of people to talk to, or because they experience
difficulties with the local administration, immigration, acculturation, and
discrimination (see Liebkind and Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2000; Kaestner et al.,
2009; Lueck and Wilson, 2011; Lähde, 2013).
In brief, immigrants live in a new environment and face new cultural norms;
they are far away from their family and friends; they live in a society with a
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new language; they do not have people to talk to and with whom to share
experiences; they need advice, jobs, flats, and doctors; they need all sort of
local tips. This type of stressful situation requires psychological support that
immigrants, at least partly, will satisfy in their online immigrant community.
Web communities will be a help, acting as a “web of assistance” (a notion by
Wellman, 1997). As Gil de Zúñiga (2009) argues, it is not the media per se
that affects the individual, but the specific ways in which individuals use
media. Immigrants find it rather easy to get on THE LOCAL discussion list and
share their experiences with others in their native language. The fact that they
can communicate in their native language means much to them.
5.4.3 Section conclusion
The users of both web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL,
became users because of: (1) the recommendations of other users; or (2)
when they searched for information about their host society. The users of
both communities gave two reasons for using their web community: (1) to find
information about their new society ‒ practical information; and (2) to
establish new contacts, to find people with whom they could communicate.
The users of THE LOCAL, unlike the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, also reported
that they would like to find someone with whom to socialise.
The users of both communities profit from the information published in those
web communities. They report that in a web community they can find all sorts
of information (a variety that suits them well). In both cases they mostly look
for information about managing their lives in their host society: visas, housing,
job opportunities, salaries, taxes, health, education, language, banking
system, and cultural norms. Many of the users reported that, in order to
“release the pressure” they go online to find someone to talk to, someone in a
similar situation, and someone who speaks the same language.
A minor identified difference between the usage of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE
LOCAL is that some users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ compare their quality of life with
that of other people in other countries, and because of such comparisons
they can prepare their next move to a new host country. The users of web
communities designed for immigrants are generally highly practical and
operational.
From the above we may conclude that immigrants use these web
communities as a tool to satisfy their needs. However, we have not identified
any perception of enjoying a cosmopolitan way of life thanks to using the
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web, as the theory suggests (e.g., see Nedelcu, 2010). Therefore, our second
conclusion is that the research should continue and that the theory should be
revisited.
5.5 Community norms and values
In the analysis of community norms and values we investigate those events
that find as their pivotal point the emergence of trust amongst community
members. As mentioned earlier (see section 5.1), trust is a crucial factor in
any form of societal communication (cf. Quandt, 2012) and trust functions as
a lubricant for the process of cooperation (see Bjørnskov, 2005). Trust is also
a facilitator of coordination and cooperation that provides mutual benefits (cf.
Putnam, 1993, 2000; Nannestad et al., 2008; Lu et al., 2010). Therefore, a
thorough analysis of trust in web communities, and the way it is generated,
represents one of the most important questions. In this section, we will
discuss the users‟ answers on matters of trust, which is a key point in terms
of bridging and bonding social capital.
Users of both web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, are
intuitively aware of the importance of trust. In web-based communities,
“relations[hips] are established in which reciprocity is reinforced so that
individuals contribute to collective goods that are contingent on others doing
likewise” (Nannestad et al., 2008, p. 4). Logically, if one is looking for
information then trust plays a crucial role. In both web communities the
majority of users are quite cautious. Therefore, in this section we will address
the users‟ answers on questions that reflect on their perceptions of trust
(question theme (2), section 5.2 (C)).
5.5.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
The users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ invest time in identifying trustworthy
information. A telling example is searching for the person behind a nickname.
Many interviewees stated that they start to analyse the writing style of a
posted message. Then, they link the content to the person posting the
emssage, and to the nickname (see quote S4-3). With the progress of time
they collect sufficient information to develop an opinion about the person
behind a particular nickname. What they are hoping for is to be able to
distinguish whether or not that person is sincere.
quote S4-3: “I doubt everything. If you follow the forum it‟s easy to know who is
who. You remember their nick-names, and you sense from their writing
style whether they are sincere or not” [Translated into English]
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Users are cautious and patient. After analysing the content of postings, and
connecting the content to the person behind the nickname, users move one
step forward. If they find that the person has been sincere, they have the
confidence to start some direct and more personal communication with that
person. This represents the next step of their investigation, wherein the user
analyses how that person will behave under the conditions of direct contact.
quote S1-2: “I have never given my personal details at the beginning. Only if we
“see” each other more frequently, than we would use some other way of
communication, icq or some other system… after I realise that someone
appears normal and decent…and I have to admit that all [advices] were
true, up to a single detail” [Translated into English]
This type of user invests the appropriate amount of time in such an analysis.
He is able to gather sufficient material and to arrive at the correct conclusion.
These users give the impression of being cautious people. By doubting
everything (see quote S1-2), and believing that generating trust takes time,
users take care in the way they perform the analyses of their communication
patterns.
The following two quotes represent the general atmosphere of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ. A significant number of interviewed users (4 out of 12) replied that they
do not trust others blindly, or that trust on the web comes after some time, for
example after the analysis of the other user‟s contribution (see quote S3-1).
quote S3-1: “Up to some extent, I do not trust anyone blindly…I think that a
creation of the trust on the Internet is a slow process, and one should
always be cautious” [Translated into English]
One user reported that he trusts the information published on the SERBIAN
CAFÉ without any doubts. He relies on the values of the community, believing
that since he was honest in making contributions - other users will also be
honest (see quote S11-3).
quote S11-3: “I do trust, because I was also one of those who offered his own
experience, and I was honest while doing that. Therefore I trusted others”
Finally, a majority of the SERBIAN CAFÉ users we interviewed (7 out of 12)
reported, both implicitly and explicitly, that they do trust the information
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published there. In general, web community users are social behaviour
investigators who perform their own research: (1) to estimate the quality of
the information provider; and (2) to have a clear picture of the personality on
the other side of the screen. After their analysis has been completed most
users arrive at a satisfactory conclusion and then they feel safe. At that very
moment, they allow themselves to create closer contacts with the other
person, sharing more personal details and creating relationships on a more
personal level.
5.5.2 THE LOCAL
Users of THE LOCAL go through the same process of analysing the content of
posts and the person behind the nickname. Some of the interviewees do not
find this process to be different from any other process of information
evaluation, no matter from which source the information comes. One has to
follow the source through time, analyse the content, analyse the way that a
particular source deals with certain topics, and finally make an estimation of
the validity of the information source. In quote L7-2, the user explicitly uses
the word “research”, clearly describing the process in which he has been
engaged when interacting with his source.
quote L7-2: “I trust as much as I trust any information from any source and the
evaluation is made in the same way. by research or gut feeling.”
Many of the interviewees said that they check the information they are given,
compare it with information from other sources, and check it once more
against their own personal experience. To reach the necessary level of trust
one has to pass a validity test. As shown in Chapter 4, the level of someone‟s
trust is directly responsible for their reputation in the community, which can
promote the reputation of a particular user to that of a “local expert” or an
“informal leader”.
Our earlier step of qualitative analysis (on community building) has shown
that users of THE LOCAL are more distrustful and much more cautious than the
average Internet user. Quote L3-3 shows that after a few months, or even a
year, one gets to “know” a few people.
quote L3 -3: “I trust some. I check up on information to see if it sounds like they
know what they are talking about. After a few months or a year one gets to
regard or “know” a few posters because of what they reveal about
themselves, their opinions on issues , humour”
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A small number of interviewees (3 out of 12) stated explicitly that they do not
trust information on THE LOCAL. They mentioned that they feel the presence of
“others” who are not benevolent. As argued before, users feel the presence of
lurkers who are, according to scientific researchers in the past, 50% to 60%
of all users (see section 5.3). Some of the invisible users are benevolent and
some are not, but most interesting are the following two facts: (1) the
community is sensitive to invisible presence; and (2) the invisible activity is
driven by its different motivations (positive and negative). This presence
creates an uncomfortable feeling of exposure, which makes other users more
reticent, and much more suspicious. The following quotes (L8-1, and L10-1)
are examples. The users‟ answers are clear, in response to the question as to
whether or not they trust the information encountered on THE LOCAL.
quote L8-1: “Not really. I actually think there are some "official" people on here,
i.e., from other governments, trying to swing political views of foreigners in
Sweden.”
quote L10-1: “No - there is a tendency for the same contributors to monopolise
discussions - and be somewhat intimidating if you express a contrary
opinion. Have happily (& profitably) used other expat websites in the other
countries I've lived in - but have to say thelocal.se has produced levels of
misery I didn't think could exist!”
These negatively charged emotions and opinions also create a negative
atmosphere. Comments are harsh and may create strong feelings of
intimidation. That kind of atmosphere is not a fertile ground for creating
trustworthiness. Consequently, having trust directly responsible for
cooperation and the creation of social capital provides mutual benefits (cf.
Arrow, 1974; Putnam, 1993). But the atmosphere as expressed by L8-1 and
L10-1 is dangerous and counter-productive for social capital acquisition,
which might lead to making the distance between users far from close. And it
will be quite difficult to create a more amicable atmosphere.
The users of both communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, alertly
follow the online activities of their community, accurately identifying the
positive and negative activities. Those users who identify negative activities
usually make a public statement, report the identified activity, and isolate any
negative activities and those responsible for them, while simultaneously
supporting the positive (useful) contributions. Users start their membership by
being quite sceptical of the trustworthiness of published information. Being
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intuitively aware that trust is crucial, users invest time in analysing the
contribution behind specific user names, they check the information, and the
validity of the contributor. Only after an iterative process with multiple positive
experiences will a user develop a feeling of trust.
Although the process of creating trust is the same in both web communities,
the level of trust differs. From our admittedly limited data, we may
provisionally conclude that the SERBIAN CAFÉ web-community users show
more trust in their community exchanges than those of THE LOCAL. They are
more relaxed when the topic of trust is discussed, and one easily gets the
feeling of a close, trustworthy atmosphere. Contrary to the trustworthy
atmosphere of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, users of THE LOCAL are generally more
distant and much more suspicious.
5.6 Community identity and immigration issues
Participating in the life of a web community, either in the visible or the
invisible layer, implies that members of that particular community are in some
kind of contact. The members can be merely readers of the postings of other
participants, they can be people who take part in discussions, post questions,
give answers, or they can just lurk. Although lurking often sounds like a
negative activity, in the web community ecosystem that particular activity
does not have a traditional meaning (lurk: to be or remain hidden, to wait in
ambush for someone or something – Oxford Dictionaries). Instead, and as
mentioned earlier, lurkers are those whose behaviour in the network is
passive but who benefit from the activities in the network (cf. Mitra, 1997;
Burnett, 2000; Thompson et al., 2013; Munzel and Kunz, 2013).
When considering the members of a web community, the importance of the
invisible layer must be emphasized. It should be accepted that the
emergence and reproduction of social capital (both negative and positive)
occur simultaneously in the visible and the invisible layer. Sometimes
important activities such as community building (theme 1) happen in an
invisible space from the perspective of the web community (for example, if
users of both web communities started to reply via e-mail, supporting and
defending a researcher outside the public space of web communities). Users
are typically gathered in a web space around shared identities, interests, and
common languages. However, the ways in which they conduct their activities
and interconnections is a matter of personal choice and individual
characteristics.
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Bearing in mind one of the original reasons for conducting this study, namely
identifying the effects of web communities that could help immigrants in a
new host society, it is crucial to understand and analyse to what extent users
are online in order to obtain information about the particular host country and
to make useful contacts. In other words, while expressing their community
identity, do users access web communities to establish contacts with other
users and deal with immigration issues? In this section, we will address users‟
answers to questions that target the way they make new contacts online
(question theme (3), section 5.2 (C)).
5.6.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
It seems clear that users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ typically recognise the diffuse
information capacities of their web community. Realising that they share a
communication space with people who have different experiences regarding
their education, integration, language, etc., and different geographical
locations, they turn to their web community to handle important questions
concerning immigration. The following quote S11-4 is an example of how
community members talk about obtaining a legal status in the USA.
quote S11-4: “Then, I needed help with papers. That way [by using the SERBIAN
CAFÉ] I tried to hear the experiences of others. They didn‟t really help me,
but I reached many information, or experiences, from other people about
obtaining a legal status in the America [the USA]” [Translated into English]
Users in this web community are practical; they know exactly for which
purpose they address others in the same web community. Many users
mentioned that the SERBIAN CAFÉ handles typical problems of immigrant
integration such as papers, legal status, taxes, etc. (see quote S8-3).
quote S8-3: “There [the SERBIAN CAFÉ] you can always find advices how and
what to do. You understand that? Visas, how to obtain citizenship, how to
get tax deduction, you can get a lot of useful information. You just have to
look for it.” [Translated into English]
The next user, in the quote S4-4, reported that he was using the SERBIAN
CAFÉ web community when he was looking for a flat, during his preparation to
move to New York.
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quote S4-4: “I was looking for a first-hand information. Where to look for a flat,
job, what are the prices…and in general the life in NY” [Translated into
English]
Some users reported that they use the web community to be better informed
about local events (see quote S9-1), local services, and/or local religious
organisations (see quote S2-1).
quote S9-1: “I use it to see when some play is on. I read news, discussions about
Toronto” [Translated into English]
quote S2-1: “I use it to see when our [Serbian] theatre is arriving. To see the
dentists who advertise there, who is doing tax, ophthalmologists, cultural
and religious life of Serbian community in Toronto.” [Translated into
English]
After analysing the content of the users‟ interactions online, (Chapter 4,
subsection 4.10), where it is shown that, because of their web community
activities, many users deepen their bonding activities, it was surprising that
users seldom showed traces of an intention to become more personal, closer.
The users appear to be gathered in a web community that exploits the same
language, but do so only to exchange practical information and to share their
experiences. They have not expressed much interest going one-step further
by making deeper social contacts. Having in mind their initial situation, which
users described as feelings of loneliness, without any contacts in their new
environments and no one to communicate with, it was somewhat surprising to
find that they maintained a distant position from each other.
However, the majority of interviewees (8 out of 12) reported in the interviews
that they established more personal contacts with other users of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ. For us, at first, it was quite surprising that this significant number
remained invisible, in particular when looking from the perspective of the
ethnographic interpretive method (see Chapter 4). Nevertheless, a
scrupulous analysis of their stories showed how that was possible.
Below we reveal, via a thorough analysis, the existence of the invisivible
layer. After users had completed their own evaluation process of
trustworthiness, they usually transferred their communication to some other
personal means such as e-mail, mobile phones, Facebook, etc. Thanks to the
technological transfer (see Chapter 4 and section 5.1), which scholars usually
call media multiplexity (cf. Wellman and Hogan, 2004; Haythornthwaite, 2005;
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Miczo et al., 2011), private communication by the users remains hidden, i.e.,
separated from the public space of their web communities. Thus, it remains
unknown to visitors of the web community. Our main finding is that, even by
combining numerous communicative possibilities, users are able (and
apparently still wish) to isolate their personal communications with each other
from the SERBIAN CAFÉ community. That is the reason why the
communications were invisible to the ethnographic analysis discussed in
Chapter 4.
Let us now go back and investigate whether we could have detected this
invisible layer by straightforward analysis. Massey (1987) suggested that for
developing an immigrant network it is necessary that a user must be in the
right place at the right time and have a way in which he is able to distribute
his advice and favours to others. Nowadays, in the age of the Internet, the
right place is on the web, which is the current forum for distributing advice
and favours to others. And the right time is any time after the helping user has
posted information from which other users can profit when they themselves
go online, which could be simultaneously or it could be later. A review of
migration literature by Massey is quite appropriate for understanding how
patterns of migration and networks may create patterns of social change (cf.
Curran and Saguy, 2013). What we see is the following. Over time, new
people in new networks connect with other new people, and the immigrant
presence automatically grows. It is a self-feeding process such as in cases
where the immigrants may distribute jobs to each other. Continuing with the
traditional self-feeding practice of immigrant communities ‒ recruiting friends
and relatives to join the community (cf. Bailey and Waldinger, 1991; Drever
and Hoffmeister, 2008; Giulietti et al., 2013), immigrants use the web for the
same reasons, but now they gain influence outside the geographical
limitations of the local space. One user (see quote S11-5) reports that, thanks
to the SERBIAN CAFÉ, he met many people, and due to his activity in the
SERBIAN CAFÉ his network of friends is immense.
quote S11-5: “For example, I met few people connected to the Red Star
[Belgrade football club], I am their supporter. The Red Star played in
Chicago, I needed tickets, and I saw on [SERBIAN CAFÉ] the discussion:
the supporters organise a group visit. I mean, few people bought 2000
tickets to organise people to be together. After they published [their] emails, I contacted them. Thanks to them, later, I met in Chicago people
from Miami, Arizona, and other American and Canadian cities. Then, I
connected them to those I know.. So today, we are over 200 who are in
contact.” [Translated into English]
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quote S1-3: “New people you first meet on the Internet, then live…Even today I
have real friendships from the net…I guess that was my secondary goal,
kind of if it happens-happens.. After that both sides [one side, an
interviewee, and the other side, a new person met on SERBIAN CAFÉ]
realised that the one on the other side is ok, than we exchange mobile
phone numbers, or the e-mail, and make an agreement to meet in person..
Back then, I used the ICQ for the chat, or we corresponded by e-mails that
are, I think, more relaxed [communication] for both… We arranged
meetings both using the e-mail and the chat” [Translated into English]
According to quote S1-3, it seems that some users approach the SERBIAN
CAFÉ web community as though it were an “exhibition” space ‒ a place where
they can choose potential contacts after analysing the content each person
publicly posts. Nevertheless, only one interviewee reported that he did that
intentionally. For others, this is a side effect of using the web community. So,
it is an unintentional consequence.
quote S3-2: “One could say that the discussion led to the encounter…I never
went there [the SERBIAN CAFÉ] with intention to find some friend”
Not being aware of any intention explains why the intention did not become
explicit. This is the cause of the invisible layer. Most users state that they
never used the SERBIAN CAFÉ with a conscious intention; they were never
really expecting to make some personal contacts there (see quote S3-2).
During a live chat interview, users expressed an uncomfortable feeling when
talking about the possibility of meeting other people online. It appeared that
saying that one makes personal contacts online is not something to be proud
of. One user compared that to online dating in a quite ironical way, trying to
stress that he is not that kind of guy (see quote S10-1).
quote S10-1: “I am not using it to meet new people in my real life. Just when I
arrived to Canada and when I was lonely I used the chat, but I realized that
was the way to meet someone just for one weekend, so I stopped with that.
I know few [users] who got married like that.” [Translated into English]
The quote S10-1 shows this ambiguous feeling. On the one hand, this user
states that he is not using the tool to meet new people, but on the other hand
he said that he was using it when he was lonely. He even goes further, by
stating that he knows people “who married like that”. All interviewees who
reported making some personal contacts thanks to the SERBIAN CAFÉ (8 out of
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12), stated that these contacts were made outside their normal circle of
friends. These are new people or weak ties, in Granovetter‟s (1984) meaning
of the term. Some of these new contacts did not last long ‒ with time they just
faded away. Yet, some of the new contacts remained alive on a quite
superficial level. Half of the interviewees who made some contacts online (4
out of 8), stated that the contacts lasted for some period without leaving any
significant trace on their lives. Either they were only online relationships, or
they occurred in an offline relationship; however, they were assumed by other
users never to evolve into more important contacts.
quote S3-3: “Of course, there [on the SERBIAN CAFÉ] I met some nice people
with whom I still hang out; they became friends of mine.. I am talking about
the people I never saw before. I met them in that club and, all of them were
and still are on the SERBIAN CAFÉ.” [Translated into English]
Yet, with reference to qote S3-3, some of these contacts did evolve into
strong relationships, even friendships. Some users (3 out of 8) stated that
they established strong friendship relationships with contacts they made in
the SERBIAN CAFÉ. This statement is one more sign of the existence of the
invisible layer.
5.6.2 THE LOCAL
Similar to the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, the users of THE LOCAL addressed
the web community with topics that are typical for the immigrant integration.
User L1 (see quote L1-2) reports using THE LOCAL for reading the news and
being informed about property regulations in Sweden.
quote L1-2: “i use it now mostly for the news rather than the jobs and also the
property section. i read about things i am interested in sometimes, visa
advice or life in sweden i dont post very often tho”
Quotes L4-1 and L2-2, show that web community users also look for
information about the Swedish lifestyle, rents, and habits.
quote L4-1: “everything related to the life in Sweden, rents, habits. property
section”
quote L2-2: “I like to know the local news but without swedish that wasn't
possible. so to be able to understand what colleagues in the office were
talking about i check in on it every day”
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Not infrequently THE LOCAL users report being online in order to find a way for
getting around through Swedish everyday life (see quote L1-3), or to
understand the characteristics of the Swedish culture.
quote L1-3: “i am addressing a variety of people hopefully who have experiences
of life in sweden and I have found out some information about swedish
clases and what to expect in winter and where to buy spray on deodorant”
Getting into contact with someone who is in a similar situation to oneself is
acknowledged as a useful way of dealing with feelings of loneliness, but it can
be difficult to achieve. This is how user L2 describes the process in quotes
L2-3, and L2-4.
quote L2-3: “the cultural mishaps or differences. like the 'but this is Swden‟ stuff.
information about how other people have adapted or are struggling. and
that to me is of value because sometimes you think you are the only one
going through this stuf and yet a whole bunch of other people apparently
are too”
quote L2-4: “to make conversation I guess because after only 2 months here i
don't have many people i could call friends”
We have shown in Chapter 4 that users of THE LOCAL use the technological
transfer to maintain newly established contacts. However, we do not claim
that seeking contacts on the web is an adequate substitute for the traditional
way of looking for contacts. Still, until the interviews were analysed it was
impossible to discuss either the user‟s conscious intentions to make contacts
or the nature of the contacts established thanks to THE LOCAL exchange.
A majority of the interviewees (8 out of 12) reported that they made online
connections with people outside their circle of friends by using THE LOCAL.
These weak ties (cf. Granovetter, 1984) are an important resource for finding
diffuse information. For immigrants this is of great importance since the
members of a network that are connected to those outside of their own circle
of friends (cf. Wellman, 1983) provide access to more diffuse types of
resources, because each person operates in different social networks and
has access to different resources. Thus, the accumulative knowledge of the
network becomes greater and, therefore, more useful for someone who is in
need of information. Thanks to these newly established weak ties,
connections, individual users, and the whole network can profit from new
knowledge.
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Due to the more advanced software solution in the case of THE LOCAL, more
personal communications can be kept away from the more public space.
Users often send private messages (invisible to most other users of THE
LOCAL) when they want to communicate. Nevertheless, that does not mean
that personal contact will be established. Some users tried to establish
contact that is more personal but they failed. User L3 in quote L3-4 expresses
his feeling of having a connection.
quote L3-4: “Responding to these posters on a particular thread sometimes leads
to a dialogue and bantr that is almost like flirting. One can feel a
connection. This is what I consider a positive interaction – Once again it‟s
the feeling of “I am not alone” It‟s not just ME that sees things this way –
there are others out there” Also it‟s often a battle of wits which is very
stimulating intellectually....For me it is a one dimensional relationship
almost like having a pen pal but with usually total anonymity so you get to
know a persona rather than a person. But then I am not interested in
meeting people in 3D. The Local for me fulfills the function of giving a
sense of belonging or rather of not being alone in the expat experience. I
like the anonymity. I also like the intellectual engagement and banter that
goes on between folk. It‟s like a cyber pub where you go to hang out and
comment on the world without having to commit to other people. Its an
exchange of opinions and views without any expectations. It‟s a matching of
wits and a lot of intellectual posturing as well. It is often hilarious which is
what keeps me coming back constantly to read it.”
From quote L3-4, one can see that, in this instance, the usage of THE LOCAL
took place in order to make contact with someone in a similar situation, and to
deal with feelings of loneliness. Other users of THE LOCAL approached the
same theme of questions in a simple and direct manner, just using “yes” or
“no”. When we were conducting our first few interviews it was surprising that
a subject which the members of the SERBIAN CAFÉ found it difficult to talk
about was taken for granted, by users of THE LOCAL, as a normal subject for
discussion, a subject where they could answer questions with a simple “yes”
or “no”. But after spending more time talking to users of THE LOCAL it became
clear that the simplicity of dealing with questions in that way came from the
nature of their usage of the web. The users of THE LOCAL are accustomed to
making new contacts online and then perhaps take those contacts offline.
They do not feel uncomfortable in doing so, and therefore they do not feel it
necessary to explain their actions in the way that users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ
do.
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Users who were successful in increasing their number of personal contacts
generally found THE LOCAL easy to use ‒ an interesting and enjoyable place
to hang out. They find that THE LOCAL is useful “for day to day issues of
integrating into the Swedish culture”; it brings them together as “foreigners in
the same situation”. Therefore, making more personal contacts by using
private messages, or joining meet-up groups comes naturally to those users,
and they do not exhibit any uncomfortable feelings when discussing the
subject. For them, this is a straightforward activity. Nevertheless, the users of
THE LOCAL describe the contacts they established there as not being very
important. Only two interviewees (2 out of 12) reported that a contact they
made there means something more to them, calling that person a friend. In
THE LOCAL, users find someone to talk to, someone with whom they can
exchange ideas or experiences, someone to laugh with, even someone with
whom to go to pub nights, but with no greater expectations.
The users of both web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, profit
from their exchanges in the web community by acquiring information about
their host society. When it comes to making contacts with new people, the
situation differs.
For the SERBIAN CAFÉ we arrived at the following three conclusions:
(1) Users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ express an uncomfortable feeling when
they speak about meeting new people online. It seems that, in
general, within the culture of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, meeting someone
online has a pejorative connotation. Therefore, the users‟ replies in
the interviews are somehow ambiguous.
(2) Most users do not start out with the intention to meet someone else
within the community, and if this happens it does so as an
unintentional consequence of their usage of the web community. Still,
a majority of the users interviewed (8 out of 12) reported that they
established more personal contacts with new people, i.e., other users
of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, who were outside of their usual circle of friends.
(3) Finally, 3 out of 8 users who reported establishing more personal
contacts, stated that with time their new contacts evolved into strong
relationships. We may therefore conclude that new contacts can have
positive consequences for members of the invisible layer.
For THE LOCAL, we arrived at the following three conclusions:
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(1) From the research items available we may provisionally conclude that
the majority of the users of THE LOCAL (8 OUT OF 12) reported that they
established contacts with new people outside of their circle of friends.
(2) Unlike the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, users of THE LOCAL are rather
comfortable talking about the subject ‒ for them making new
contacts online is not a taboo subject for discussion. They socialise
offline, either by meeting others through active meet-up groups (3 out
of 12), or by using other channels of communication (4 out of 8 who
reported establishing new contacts).
(3) Only 2 users out of 12 reported that their new contact could be called
“a friend”.
Overall, we may provisionally conclude that the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ
implicitly indicate that making new contacts is an identified activity, while the
users of THE LOCAL express the same observation explicitly.
5.7 Diffuse reciprocal activities
Our empirical findings reveal four characteristics of modern relationships that
are due to the existence of mass transit systems and modern means of
communication. Many modern relationships are: (a) physically distant; (b)
sparsely-knit; (c) socially diverse; and (d) weak in strength. The Internet
provides people with networks that are physically distant; it easily connects
people over time and space; it connects users with new contacts and
sometimes even with people of different social positions to themselves (cf. Di
Gennaro & Dutton, 2007). Scholars who claim that the Internet supplements
our lives by adding to the overall volume of communication between us,
argue that to some extent web users are also trying to shift their online
contacts so that they create offline support (cf. Boase and Wellman, 2004).
But how do the users of the two web communities feel about this? Moreover,
what do they feel they have gained or lost by using the Internet? In summary,
how did they handle the diffuse reciprocal activities (a term introduced in
Section 4.1) available to them as a result of using the Internet? The answer to
this question will most probably influence their future engagement online.
Below we report on how they perceive the influence of the SERBIAN CAFÉ and
THE LOCAL respectively on their real, offline lives. In this section we will
discuss the users‟ answers to question theme 4 (see section 5.2 (C): question
themes).
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5.7.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
The majority of users (9 out of 12) reported that they visited the SERBIAN CAFÉ
in order to find help in the form of information about their new host society
(see quote S1-5).
quote S1-5: “[I used it] to find people that will give me the information on surviving
“over there” .. Today I would say because we speak the same
language…this is why I was looking for our people on the net…to give me
the information, to tell me WHERE to enrol, and WHEN and HOW you look
for a job if you are a student” [Translated into English]
In addition, as mentioned earlier, users from whom we have taken the quotes
S7-2, S7-3, and S11-2, (see subsection 5.4.1) said that they use the SERBIAN
CAFÉ to help others in similar situations to themselves. User S7 describes the
same process (see quotes S7-4, and S7-5).
quote S7-4: “people are able to find my old posts, if they encounter similar
problems, write to me and ask, I help” [Translated into English]
S7-5 “I expect an honest information and help. I always help someone if I can”
It is clear that these users visit the SERBIAN CAFÉ to exchange helpful
information. However, when asked how their web usage influenced their
offline lives they replied somewhat ambiguously. User S4 in the quote S4-5,
reported using the SERBIAN CAFÉ for recipes and for comparing advice on how
to live in different countries, since she was preparing to move again. This
user even made some friendships, both online and offline. Yet, the quote
shows how she judged the influence of the SERBIAN CAFÉ on her life.
quote S4-5: “I wouldn‟t say that influences, it is more like an auxiliary tool, makes
me feel closer to my homeland, maintains my native language, it doesn‟t
have some influence. Now the Facebook took over that role [making
contacts]” [Translated into English]
In most cases users said that their usage of the SERBIAN CAFÉ is helpful, but
at the same time they state that it does not influence their real-world lives.
Some users managed to relate the influence on their lives according to when
they spent time in the community, comparing the time they spent there when
they were starting their immigrant life with the time they spend there now that
they have become experienced immigrants. Below we show that the
following elements play an important part in how they assess the value to
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themselves of their usage of the community: positive effects (S6), pioneering
role (S3), a mixture of motivations (S7), evolution (S11), and living info (S1).
quote S6-2: “We survived thanks to the Internet! Today (before I am going to
move to Scandinavia) I visit discussion Scandinavia….Then (at the
beginning of my life in Athens) it was serious [the influence]…many hours
spent in front of the computer” [Translated into English]
User S6 in the quote S6-2, is rather direct in expressing the positive effects
that the web usage had on her life, and on decisions about her future.
quote S3-4: “The SERBIAN CAFÉ was one of the first forums where people could
find someone, emigrants before all… ten year ago the SERBIAN CAFÉ was
a starting point.” [Translated into English]
For user S3 in the quote S3-4, the SERBIAN CAFÉ was an important starting
point when he arrived in the host society. The emergence of the Internet in
the 1990s coincided with the beginning of the civil war in former Yugoslavia. It
is clear from the above testimonies that many immigrants identified the
SERBIAN CAFÉ as the first place on the web where they could find someone in
the same immigrant situation as themselves. In the 2000s, with the
proliferation of web sites on the Internet, we witnessed the emergence of a
massive use of IT for “banal transnationalism” practices (cf. Rigoni, 2002) in
which ethnical, national, and religious identities tended to be emphasised as
crucial. Bearing in mind that the SERBIAN CAFÉ emerged in 1996, one can
argue that the SERBIAN CAFÉ had a pioneering role, in addition to which a
majority of the interviewed web users emphasised its usefulness by testifying
that they managed to find helpful information that made their lives easier (see
for example quote S8-4).
quote S8-4: “Many times I found a very good information that made some things
easier in this gastarbeiter [guest worker in Germany, a name for
immigrants] life…the SERBIAN CAFÉ makes gastarbeiter, immigrant life
easier by providing easy accessible information” [Translated into English]
The SERBIAN CAFÉ users expressed a mixture of motivations that prompted
them to visit over a period of time. At the beginning of their usage they visited
the SERBIAN CAFÉ to be informed. With the progress of time users remained
there because it had become part of their social lives, and at the time of our
interviews with them they were still there just to offer help for new visitors.
They do not forget how difficult it was for them in the beginning of their stay in
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their new host society, and therefore they are motivated to share their
experiences. This motivation, and the way they regard the SERBIAN CAFÉ, both
evolve with time. This process conforms to the network‟s norm of mutual
reciprocity (see Putnam, 2001) as one of the most important benefits of social
capital. Accordingly, Wellman (1996) also argued that those who have a
strong attachment to a web community would be more likely to participate
and help others, even if the others are total strangers. Therefore, once a user
finds help in one group, the norm of reciprocity converts him in the future to
the new role of helping someone else. Consequently, the process of
reciprocity takes the community to the level of a social capital reproduction
process, and this is what users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ reported in the interviews
(see quote S7-3).
quote S7-3: “At the moment I am helping people that are in the same situation
like I used to be, and mostly because I have had quite uncomfortable
experiences” [Translated into English]
In quote S11-2, this user explicitly describes the evolution of his usage.
quote S11-2: “I looked for the help more when I lived in Chicago [in the past] than
in Canada. Here [nowadays in Canada] I was helping more than then I was
asking for the help” [Translated into English]
For user S1 (see quote S1-4), the SERBIAN CAFÉ is a living info centre, a way
to obtain information from other people.
quote S1-4: “Before I came here. And, at the beginning, when I did not have
much information. It helped me [the SERBIAN CAFÉ]…living info centre
:)… I got information from the other people.” [Translated into English]
It is important to emphasise here that in the majority of cases web users did
not define their usage of the SERBIAN CAFÉ as being an influential activity (7
out of 12). However, implicitly, when they described how and for what
purpose they used the SERBIAN CAFÉ, they gave us a strong basis for
understanding the influence that the SERBIAN CAFÉ had on their real, offline
lives. They made new contacts online, obtained information, practiced their
own language, and maintained old contacts. Therefore that interaction made
their lives easier. A majority of them (9 out of 12) reported that they found
some useful information on the SERBIAN CAFÉ at some point of their immigrant
experience, usually at the very beginning.
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5.7.2 THE LOCAL
The users of THE LOCAL also reported that there was a large amount of
information and help available online. Below we show that the following
elements play an important part in how they use the community: offering
advice to others (L2, L11); finding helpful information (L4, L5, L7); getting
emotional support (L10); helping them to take their first steps in the Swedish
community (L4, L2); helping them to make a new life in a new culture (L2).
Users L2 and L11 (see quotes L2-9, and L11-3) both talked about offering
advice to others.
quote L2-9: “and having just moved here from ireland i gave my advice and then
some nasty character joined the discussion and started criticising irish
people and became vry offensive.”
quote L11-3: “To help others, to get advice and at times to simply touch base with
people who have a similar culture and perspective of life as I do.”
Many of the THE LOCAL users reported that they found plenty of helpful
information online (see quotes L4-3, L5-1, and L7-3).
quote L4-3: “the local can give informations about rent and other useful thins on
Sweden”
quote L5-1: “I am not sure I understand, but surely I had plenty information that
helped...like where is the doctor, and how do you get the card that allows
you discount .....etc...”
quote L7-3: “information about how to go about things such as how the burocracy
works, what is going on socially with other expats, tips on how to survive
the winter, travel tips, places worth seeing.etc.”
In some cases the help they looked for was in the nature of emotional support
‒ one of the ways to help them combat feelings of isolation in their host
country (see quote L10-3).
quote L10-3: “I also look for support from other 'expats' (from their comments)
when you feel 'isolated' in another country.”
Users of THE LOCAL are more restrained than the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ.
In the majority of cases, when asked how their online experiences influenced
their offline lives, web users said that THE LOCAL was not influential. As
mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, the Internet is already an
indispensable part of our everyday lives. Whether employed for “banal”, every
day practices, or for satisfying important needs, it is used to such an extent
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that it becomes a taken-for-granted part of everyday life (cf. Georgiu, 2006).
Users say that their use of THE LOCAL does not really influence their lives,
while simultaneously, during their descriptions of their internet activity they
implicitly suggest that THE LOCAL means something to them after all.
quote L4-2: “its a space seen an immigrant space, a from our eyes, it is a kind of
"immigrants space", you can't see the swedish community from there, but
only our representation, first step only”
User L4 in the quote L4-2, gives an important insight into this user‟s
perception of THE LOCAL web space as a first step into the Swedish
community. Thanks to their usage of THE LOCAL, users find helpful information
and they experience feelings of belonging. They feel better knowing that they
are not alone in this new experience (see quote L2-5).
quote L2-5: “it makes you feel part of a segment of swedish society namely the
expat one, people living away from original country. it makes me feel as if i
am at least part of a community where i do have other people going through
similar challenges…i think more from the point of view of understanding
that it isn't you that they have a dislike against but just the way the swedish
system works. from an information about sweden point of view it is useful,
hints and tips for living i find useful”
From quote L2-5, we can identify what an important role THE LOCAL has on
the feelings of the users of belonging, a place where one can find people who
face similar situations to oneself, and a place where one can obtain helpful
information about living in Sweden. Many users reported that they found quite
useful advice on the cultural differences between Sweden and their home
countries,
Being able to understand events in the host society, and the reactions of the
hosts around them, is helpful to immigrants and leads to socio-cultural
integration (cf. Vermeulen and Penninx, 2000; Heckmann, 2003, Croucher
and Cronn-Mills, 2011). Users indicated that they were unable to cope with
some of the cultural differences in their host society until they encountered
the discussions on THE LOCAL and learned about the local customs. By
sharing their personal experiences with the web community (see quote L2-6),
their knowledge becomes a communal resource from which other members
can profit and thereby be in a position to adopt particular cultural customs,
and to understand certain cultural differences.
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quote L2-6: “For day to day issues of integrating into the swedish culture many
persons are helpful and full of advice. It brings together people who are in
the same situation (foreigners living in sweden)….Just by getting a bit of
advice. Also its given me different perspectives of things to think about.”
Here too, in THE LOCAL, users are not reporting that the community
significantly influences their lives. However, implicitly they indicate that thanks
to their usage of THE LOCAL they have acquired a feeling of belonging, they
have obtained useful information about the local culture, mannerisms,
Swedish administration, Swedish law, the real estate market, and visas, and
they have found people to speak to. In the case of THE LOCAL, some users
even find someone to go out with.
Starting a new life in the new culture can be quite difficult, but quote L2-7
shows that finding someone with whom you can make an emotional
exchange is sometimes essential.
quote L2-7: “i find at times my Swedish colleagues can be so serious and so
super non-emotional so to read an emotional take on stuff can be good”
In both cases, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, our main conclusion is that
web users are not explicitly reporting that their web usage creates any
important influences on their real, offline lives. However, after a thorough
analysis of their answers we may conclude that there is a hidden discrepancy
between the explicit and implicit meanings of their usage. While explicitly the
users of both web communities deny any influence, implicitly they indicate
that as a tool their web usage helped them considerably with at least eight
issues: (1) giving them a feeling of belonging; (2) finding someone with whom
to communicate; (3) making them better informed; (4) giving them emotional
support; (5) helping them to make new contacts; (6) keeping them in touch
with their native language; (7) helping them to learn about their host culture;
and (8) enabling them to find practical advice. These eight explicit indications
of the impact of their online communications on their offline lives is to be
considered as a great asset for improving the actual lives of immigrants in a
foreign country.
5.8 Community engagement
From the perspective of the engagement with the community by web users, it
is interesting to discover whether the members of web communities go online
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in order to meet people in their real, offline lives. Research shows that web
services are often used to contact others with whom the user has existing
relationships. According to Dutton and Blank (2011), more than 40% of
Internet users have met someone new online. Yet, many of the relationships
(56%) that survive the test of time and exist for a longer period show a
tendency to migrate offline. Scholars (e.g, McKenna et al., 2002; Georgiu,
2006; Khvorostianov et al., 2012) have demonstrated that people who feel
physically isolated or dissatisfied with their own self-image turn more to using
an online forum for making friends. Once an online friendship is established
there is a common desire to meet in person. When online interaction
combines with offline interaction, the overall relationship might become
stronger (cf. Xie, 2008).
Many immigrants describe their lives as being lived in a state of loneliness,
being without someone with whom to share their experiences. They are not
satisfied with their social lives and the contacts they have. Therefore,
because they are lonely, we might expect them to feel a need to transfer their
online contacts to their offline life. But if web communities are convenient
places for close interpersonal reactions, the question arises ‒ how is this
transfer managed to one‟s offline life? Here, in this section, we will address
the answers to question theme 5 (sub-section 5.2 (C)).
5.8.1 SERBIAN CAFÉ
When asked to whom they mostly address in their web community
interactions, the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ answer in an ambiguous manner.
It seems that is difficult for them to give direct answers to that question. Only
three users (3 out of 12) managed to answer in a direct manner: users S10,
S4, and S12 (see quotes S10-2, S4-6, and S12-1).
quote S10-2: “It depends on the topic of my interest. No one special” [Translated
into English]
quote S4-6: “not anyone, I address the [discussion] group where my topic
belongs” [Translated into English]
It also seems that users follow their topics of interest (quotes S10-2 and S46), rather than following a specific person. Most probably this is the reason for
the ambiguity of their replies. Quote S12-1 is a good example of the users‟
intuitive feelings about their web community. In his answer this user is
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actually describing his intention not to address a specifically defined group of
people.
quote S12-1: “I address the World. To those who do understand, and know how
to listen, and who can say something smart…. No one specific” [Translated
into English]
Users often continue their answers by explaining what they actually do in the
SERBIAN CAFÉ, how they perceive their web community activity (see quote S47).
quote S4-7: “if I am interested in something I haven‟t found, I start a new topic”
SERBIAN CAFÉ users reported establishing offline contacts with people living in
other cities, and even other countries. By its very nature, being a community
of Serbian people, the SERBIAN CAFÉ presents a global space that connects
people in many different time zones and over large geographical distances,
and thereby becomes a source of diffuse types of information. Some users
express doubts in the sincerity of contacts theat they made with people who
reside in Serbia, believing that most of these people are using the SERBIAN
CAFÉ just to find someone who will provide them with a way to leave Serbia.
quote S10-3: “Yes, I know the girl from my city, who met a guy from Austria
thanks to the SERBIAN CAFÉ chat, she went to see him and after 6 months
she went over there and in a year they were married. Another case, the girl
from Knin (Croatia), she ran away to Serbia, and she met a guy from Knin
who emigrated to Australia, he invited her to visit him for one summer, she
decided to stay and they got married too… and those from Serbia, they
openly asked me to bring them to Canada, to get married, and to divorce
after the 6 months” [Translated into English]
User S10 in the quote S10-3, gives a clear description of creating an online
contact, which after some time transformed to an offline relationship. The web
community users are looking for new contacts online. Once they have
established such a contact online they carry out a validity test. If the contact
proves trustworthy it is possible that this online contact then becomes a real
life, offline experience.
The technological transfer referred to earlier supports transfer, in the SERBIAN
CAFÉ, from online to offline contact. Once the relationship moves away from
the public lforum of the web community it can evolve into something deeper.
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However, the process of that evolution happens outside the web community
where the relationship emerged.
quote S4-8: “I met two-three people on the SERBIAN CAFÉ discussions, ex yu
that live in NY. Someone from that group proposed gathering…the contacts
established on the SERBIAN CAFÉ are maintained over Fb [Facebook]. I
am in contact with all of them but we are not so close, with one girl I was in
a romantic relationship” [Translated into English]
User S4 (see quote S4-8) gives an explanation of the way he first met a few
people online, and then transferred those contacts to the offline world
following their discussions in the SERBIAN CAFÉ. This user‟s testimony
supports the idea of using other information technology services to maintain
online contacts, once a relationship becomes more personal. But none of the
users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ explicitly said that they use their web community
with the intention of meeting someone new in their real, offline life.
5.8.2 THE LOCAL
Users of THE LOCAL address other people as “expats”, as they like to call
themselves. They look for people in the same situation as themselves, and
with the same interests (see quotes L8-2 and L3-5).
quote L8-2: “other expats. Like minded people.”
quote L3-5: “Other expats or whoever has the same experience of living in more
than one culture and using more than one language. Native Swedes who
know what it‟s like to be an expat.”
THE LOCAL users are direct in expressing a need for someone with whom they
can communicate (see quote L6-1).
quote L6-1: “people who will listen to my opinions and people who wont listen to
my opinions on life in Sweden.”
Below we show that the following elements play an important part in taking
online contacts off-lne (L9, L1, L11, L2, L6, L10). THE LOCAL users believe
that a large number of them take online contacts offline. Some of the users
who moved to Stockholm from other parts of Sweden use the Stockholm
meet-up group on THE LOCAL (which they knew before) in order to make
contacts in Stockholm. As stated in Cachia´s report (Cachia et al., 2007), web
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communities are media channels for expanding online and offline
relationships.
quote L9-1: “Plenty people including me have tried to get somebody and
managed to go out for date”
User L9 in the quote L9-1, demonstrates that users of THE LOCAL perceive it
as a tool for transferring online contacts to offline life. Users of THE LOCAL can
establish such transfers of online contacts to the offline world without any
additional technological tools, and still keep the relationship private, hidden
from the rest of the community (by using prvate messages). Nevertheless,
they reported that such achievements are also managed via Facebook, which
apparently provides more options for users when it comes to events that
happen repeatedly among members of a group. Therefore, here too, users
make online to offline transfers to some extent, thanks to technological
transfer, either on the web or outside of it (see quote L1-4).
quote L1-4: “I met one person in real life, we went for coffee. We met on THE
LOCAL but we arranged it over the Facebook.”
The user from quote L11-2 reports making online contacts with users outside
of his circle of friends, and transferring those contacts to their offline life:
quote L11-2 “Yes, which has also gone offline. Pub nights, etc.”
This ease of making new contacts through THE LOCAL is well described by the
quote of user L2 who skipped the phase of first making contact online:
quote L2-8: “online no but in person yes. met some interesting people and had
interesting conversations but didn't meet them again. just left it a bit open.
and if it is meant to be a good friendship then it will come back and paths
will cross again”
Like many other users of THE LOCAL, user L2 in the quote L2-8 is aware of the
active meet-up group in Stockholm. After obtaining information online, and
knowing the reputation of the meet-up group, user L2 went to a meeting (3
out of 12 interviewees reported socializing with THE LOCAL users in this way).
Similarly, as with the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, users of THE LOCAL avoid
giving explicit statements about their usage of the web community for the
purpose of establishing new contacts. Still, a significant number of
interviewees state that it is nice to have an English-speaking friend who is in
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a similar situation to themselves. Half of those who made new contacts online
(4 out of 8) started seeing them offline.
quote L6-2: “I know that the guys who live in the cities have regular meets in bars
and clubs - but not so much activity here in the forest”
There are users, such as user L6 from the quote L6-2, who are aware of the
meeting group in Stockholm but cannot profit from it because they live in a
different part of Sweden. At the same time, there is a significant number of
interviewees who are not willing to venture into offline meetings.
quote L10-2: “No - judging by the tone and manner of some contributors, wouldn't
want to meet them!”
These users give various reasons for avoiding offline meetings: from not
being interested in making “3D” contacts with people they met online, to those
who find THE LOCAL discussion atmosphere so bad that they would definitely
not like to meet people in that way (see quote L10-2). These results support
the arguments from the research by Dutton and Blank (2011). There too,
more than 40% of users who made new online contacts transferred those
contacts to the offline realm.
The users of both web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL,
address other people individually in their web communities. They use as
forums specific topic sections, according to their interests and their needs for
information.
Users of both web communities acknowledge the possibility of transforming
online contacts into offline ones. However, both groups avoid stating explicitly
that they have used their web community for this purpose. The analysis of the
available material brought us to the following three observations.
Observation 1: If the users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ reported the transformation of
an online contact into an offline one, it happened because the weak contact
became stronger over time. It was never his or her conscious intention to go
online in order to meet someone offline.
Observation 2: In the case of THE LOCAL, the online to offline contact transfer
happened to half of those who made new contacts online.
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Observation 3: Users in THE LOCAL, who are willing to engage in offline
contacts, explicitly reported using the web community with the intention of
taking online contacts offline.
Based on these three observations, we may conclude that taking online
contacts offline is to some extent accepted as a natural continuation of web
community activity.
5.9 An answer to RQ3
Gathering together all the findings collected in this phase of our analysis
provides a solid basis for constructing the larger picture ‒ for understanding
the way immigrants live and how they use web-based communities. After the
analyses presented above (see sections 5.4 to 5.8), and based on the implicit
results from the previous sections, we are now able to offer an answer to
RQ3: What are the offline effects of the immigrants‟ online activities?
From the materials analysed we may derive the following general
conclusions.
Conclusions: Immigrants approach and participate in web-based
communities to satisfy their traditional needs, which are: (a) information
gathering; and (b) communication; and (c) building new relationships. In
subsection 5.7.3, we listed eight issues for which the web could be seen as a
tool to resolve them. In summary, the eight issues demonstrate common new
needs of immigrants as they are shaped by: (a) the definition of the
immigrant‟s status; (b) the circumstances of the immigrant‟s new life; (c) the
immigrant‟s cultural transitions; and (d) the immigrant‟s geographical
transitions when they relocate. After analysing the way in which users employ
web communities, and the ways in which they think about the effects this
usage has on their offline lives, we distinguished three offline effects of web
communities on immigrants as an answer to RQ3.
Due to their usage of their web community, the immigrants were able to
enrich their offline lives with the three new offline effects:
(1) An information centre for their real life world – web communities
dynamically provide useful information that the users need in order
to organize their immigrant lives
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(2) A communication space – web communities provide a means for
communication with those who remain in the immigrants‟ countries
of origin and those they meet in their new country
(3) A relationship-building tool – web communities supply users with
forums for the creation and maintenance of their new relationships
with other users.
In table 5.1 we present the immigrants‟ usage of web communities as tools
for satisfying the eight issues (section 5.7) in respect of the three offline
effects.
NOTE: In table 5.1 the numbers 1-8 in the “eight issues” column refer to the
same numbers employed for the eight issues mentioned in section 5.7.3, viz:
(1) giving them a feeling of belonging;
(2) finding someone with whom to communicate;
(3) making them better informed;
(4) giving them emotional support;
(5) helping them to make new contacts;
(6) keeping them in touch with their native language;
(7) helping them to learn about their host culture; and
(8) enabling them to find practical advice.
We can see from this table (Table 5.1) which of the eight issues applies to
each of the three new offline effects.
Table 5.1 Three new offline effects in relation to the eight issues
new offline effects
eight issues
1. information centre for the real 3
7
8
life world
2. communication space
2
4
6
3. relationship-building tool
1
5
NOTE: In table 5.2 the numbers 1-5 in the “five KPIs” column refer to the
same numbers employed for the five Key Performance Indicators mentioned
in section 4, viz:
(1) Community building;
(2) Community norms and values;
(3) Community identity and immigration issues;
(4) Diffuse reciprocal activities; and
(5) Community engagement.
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We can see from Table 5.2 which of the five KPIs apply to each of the three
new offline effects.
Table 5.2 Three new offline effects in relation to the five KPIs
new offline effects
five KPIs
1. information centre for the real 1
4
life world
2. communication space
2
4
3. relationship-building tool
3
4
5
In brief, the phenomenon of immigration has demonstrated that immigrants
have three traditional needs ‒ information, communication, and building new
relationships. Our study focuses on five KPIs and detected eight issues
related to the needs of immigrants. From these findings we were able to
distinguish three new offline effects. The redistribution of the eight issues on
the three offline effects is given in Table 5.1. The redistribution of the five
KPIs over the three of-line effects is given in Table 5.2. We discuss the three
offline effects, in subsections 5.9.1, 5.9.2, and 5.9.3.
5.9.1 An information centre for the real life world
People use immigrant web communities to get first-hand information. Firsthand information is valuable since it combines administrative data supported
with personal experiences of the issue at stake. In section 5.4, we have
shown that the users of both web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE
LOCAL, profit from the information published in those web communities. In
order to manage their lives in their new society, users are highly practical and
operational.
Immigrants are using web communities in all phases of their immigrant lives:
(1) in preparing to leave their country of origin; (2) on arrival at their new
destination; and, even later, (3) when they become experienced in the local
way of living, viz. when they use the same tool to help others. These three
different phases run in parallel with three different roles for the user.
1st phase - In the first phase, when one is preparing to move, one is
looking for practical information: How to obtain a visa? How
to prolong a visa? How to change one‟s social status? What
is the best way to travel? How are immigrants treated in the
new host society? What is the standard of living? and so on.
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2nd phase - In the second phase one addresses the web community,
after one‟s arrival in the new host society. One would also
like to obtain information about the new society, but this time
one addresses the web community with a somewhat different
perspective. Typical questions are: How to find job? How to
find a flat? How to apply for a social security number, an
identity card or a driving license? How to use the health
system? How to the use the social welfare system? How to
enrol in a university? Where to find language schools? How
to enrol kids in a kindergarten? Which is a good
neighbourhood in which to reside? How to solve legal
problems? How to approach the culture of the new host
society? What are the new norms and standards? And so on.
3rd phase - In the third phase, the experienced immigrants help
newcomers, both in matters of local lifestyle and in web
community activities, by being active online. They guide new
members through a local web community culture, protect the
accumulated knowledge of the web community, and refer to
it. They offer help with local administration, and with the
language, and they offer professional and social support, and
so on.
Immigrant users are generally aware of all the properties of the Internet and
they benefit from that knowledge. Their choice of the information they select
is driven by the users‟ personal needs. The display of information is clear,
easy to understand, and sometimes even translated, with detailed advice and
instructions etc. As shown in section 5.7 users of both web communities, the
SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, reported that their usage of the web helped
them to be well informed, to learn about the host culture, and to find practical
advice (Table 5.1, needs 3, 7, and 8).
Together with the need to be informed, the success of this living info centre
lies on a solid motivation. Those who experienced something in advance are
willing to share their experiences and make it easier for those who come
later. What makes this living information centre specifically practical and easy
to use beside web 2.0 technological options, is the fact that newly arrived
immigrants tend to go online to find first-hand help in their native language.
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5.9.2 A communication space
Immigrant users know that the Internet is: (1) the space of instant
communication; (2) very easy to use; (3) independent of time and space; (4)
without social and physical clues such as their voice or their skin colour,
which might act as obstacles; and (5) a space that gathers many people and
experiences. From the “communication space” row in Table 5.1 we see that
the reasons why users are members of their web communities are: to find
someone to communicate with, to obtain emotional support, and to stay in
touch with their native language (issues 2, 4, and 6, as identified in section
5.7).
Once a new user follows the advice of a more experienced user, he or she is
likely to regard that as a satisfactory experience of the particular web
community, and then their trust in that community will rise (section 5.5). Being
thus satisfied, the user will want to do the same for the community, to give
something back by sharing his personal experience or expertise with others.
This is the process of diffused reciprocity discussed earlier (see section 5.7),
which operates along all three offline effects. The result of this mutual positive
exchange creates a group of people online, a group in which the members
trust and cooperate with each other.
In matters of trust it is necessary to take a philosophical view, as with all
social systems, because some people are not to be trusted. This is why some
form of social control is necessary and should be present in online social
systems. In section 5.5 we showed that in order to maintain and protect an
efficient and useful flow of communications between the users of a web
community, the users should identify those community members who make
inappropriate contributions, and publicly discuss their contributions and
presence. Users typically will start their own membership of a web community
with a certain amount of scepticism as to the trustworthiness of the published
information. But after having some positive experiences the users will develop
feelings of trust. Finally, we may argue that the web community
spontaneously protects itself, and by such protection, it prolongs the periods
of communications between users.
A web community is a communication space where users can easily enter
and leave. Users enter without any big expectations, and they approach their
web communities with different motivations, ranging from looking for
information, to just having someone with whom to chat, or finding emotional
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support. Users of both web communities, the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL,
are using their web community to the extent that they find it comfortable.
5.9.3 Relationship building tool
Web communities are living relationship laboratories. Our results from section
5.7 show that users identified web communities as resources for feelings of
belonging and for maintaining or creating new ties in their host society (Table
5.1, issues 1, 5). Cheaper than ever before, they can maintain and create
new contacts and feel better in a new country, even when they do not have
many people around them. Communication with others in a similar situation,
where users‟ interlocutors either live in the same host country or are spread
worldwide, decreases their feelings of loneliness and stress. By exchanging
experiences, especially the feeling of being an immigrant, they obtain
emotional support and a feeling of belonging to a larger community. For
newcomers, an opportunity to find information and create a new contact is
priceless, especially in the phase when users are still inexperienced speakers
of the new, local language.
The users of immigrant web communities analyse every contribution of the
other users they encounter. By analysing the content provided by a particular
user, they create an opinion about him and evaluate the person behind the
contribution. If users find the analysed content satisfactory, and if this
satisfactory experience repeats, they invest more time in that particular user
by trying to build a more personal relationship. In section 5.6, we showed that
the majority of interviewees (8 out of 12) from both web communities, the
SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, established contacts with new people outside
of their circle of friends. Some of the users stated that their contacts even
evolved into a more personal relationship over a period of time.
In the case when a more personal relationship is established, the
communication between these actors is established through more personal
technological channels (e.g., private messages, mails, SMS). If a particular
software platform, where users have established a closer relationship,
provides an option for managing personal communication, those users will
exploit that channel. In case a software solution does not support that kind of
privacy they will take their communication out of the web community, into a
more private communication space. This more personal and private
communication again becomes the subject of analysis, and the results of that
analysis will reshape the amount of trust felt by a user. If a user‟s positive
experience increases, the level of trust will rise, and the users will invest more
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time in that relationship. Only then, the users will test the relationship for the
last time online to see whether or not it will survive the test of time. In the
case that the contact has not survived the test of time it will disappear.
However, then the loss would not be so big. It was, after all, according to our
study, just another weak tie.
However, if and when that identified personal contact does survive the test of
time, the participating users will try to transform their online contact into an
offline contact. In section 5.8, we showed that taking online contacts offline is
accepted to some extent as a natural continuation of web community activity.
In the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ the transformation from an online contact into
an offline one happens because the weak contact becomes stronger over
time. In case of THE LOCAL, the online to offline contact transfer happened to
half of those who reported making new contacts online. Those who are willing
to engage in offline contacts explicitly reported using the web community in
order to take an online contact offline. Therefore it is not only that web
communities create and maintain weak contacts, they are in some cases
“social relationship transformers” which provide a new field of interaction
capable of transforming a weak tie into a strong one.
After performing such a thorough analysis of the immigrants‟ statements, we
argue that the users nowadays treat some particular web communities as a
tool. Thus, our answer to the research question RQ3 reads as follows: The
offline, real life effects for immigrants of their web community activities
express their practical web community attitude. They use the immigrant web
communities as a living information centre, communication space, and
relationship-building tool.
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6 Conclusions and future research
In this study, the interaction between immigrants on the web is identified as
an important part of the immigrants‟ everyday transnational and integration
practices. The aim of this research was to analyse and understand the
influence that web communities have on the creation of the social capital of
immigrants, especially on the acquisition of bridging social capital. The
intention to put web communities of immigrants under the magnifying glass
has been driven by the idea of investigating, firstly by means of a quantitative
approach, and then an interpretive ethnographic approach, to what extent
such web communities function as a tool that can help immigrants in creating
bridges to their host society.
In this chapter we present the conclusions of our research and highlight the
most important findings and their social implications. We start in section 6.1
with a short overview of the complete research. Then, in section 6.2, we
present the answers to our three research questions. Based on those
answers we offer, in section 6.3, a full picture of those immigrants‟ web
communities which we have investigated. There we address the problem
statement and provide our conclusions. Finally, in section 6.4, we offer our
recommendations for further research.
6.1 The research process
The nature of the research which we have conducted stems from the
empirical interpretative tradition and it is interdisciplinary in its approach. The
interdisciplinary nature combines immigration processes, IT-oriented webbased services, and an ethnographically rooted enquiry into the construction
of social capital within immigrant communities. In other words, we focus on
the social implications introduced by the usage of the web in the context of
immigration. The motivation for this research was to obtain an answer to the
Problem Statement: To what extent do immigrants acquire social capital by
using web communities? We decided to analyse the immigrants‟ usage of
web communities from different perspectives. After a thorough literature
analysis (see Chapter 2), we were ready to start our fieldwork. Based on the
theoretical concepts of social capital, we defined a precise research domain ‒
we have chosen to investigate immigrants on the web from the perspectives
of the immigrants‟ interest in bonding social capital and their interest in
bridging social capital. We have selected two groups of immigrants as our
subjects for analysis. One is the bonding social capital group - a group of
immigrants, active on the web, who left Serbia and who now reside in various
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countries throughout the world. The other is the bridging social capital group
– a group of immigrants, active within one web community, the majority of
whom are now living in Sweden.
In order to obtain a complete understanding of the various impacts of a
technosocial system on current immigration processes we combined
quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. In subsections 6.1.1, 6.1.2,
and 6.1.3, we will briefly recapitulate the whole research process.
6.1.1 Descriptive analysis – quantitative analysis
In Chapter 1, we formulated three Research Questions (RQs) to help us
answer the Problem Statement (PS). The RQs were used as a guideline for
our research. The first RQ reads: “What is the motivation behind the
immigrants‟ usage of the web?” To answer RQ1 we restricted our research to
two groups of immigrants: (1) those immigrants who left Serbia (and now live
all over the world); and (2), those immigrants who came from all over the
world and now live in Sweden. In Chapter 3 our analysis began with a threestep quantitative study of the web for both groups of immigrants.
In the first step we identified all web spaces that deal with the topic of
immigration (see definition 1.10), and we made the distinction between web
sites and web communities among all web spaces. In the second step we
performed a classification of all identified web spaces based on: (a) the
ownership of the web space; (b) the relationship of the web space with a
particular group; and (c) the main interest of that group. The third step was a
technological analysis of two technical features: (a) reach; and (b) traffic.
By performing a thorough analysis, we were able to identify: (1) the users‟
motivations for using the web in the context of immigration; and (2) the most
influential web spaces in the context of immigration. In both cases, among the
web spaces of immigrants who left Serbia, and among the web spaces of
immigrants who now live in Sweden, the most successful web spaces where
profit-oriented web communities (i.e., the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL).
6.1.2 Ethnographic interpretation – qualitative analysis
RQ2 reads: “Is the acquisition of social capital from immigrants in web
communities a tangible acquisition?” In order to answer RQ2 we have
continued our investigation of the two identified web communities, the
SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL. Aiming to grasp the complexity of the data
created by the users‟ interactions in the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, we
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employed an ethnographic interpretive analytic approach (Chapter 4). The
goal of this approach was to identify and value the indicators of social capital
in both web communities. For this purpose, we employed the following five
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): (1) Community building; (2) Community
norms and values; (3) Community identity and immigration issues; (4) Diffuse
reciprocal activities; and (5) Community engagement. To analyse and
validate the KPIs, we established seven criteria (see Table 6.1).
Table 6.1 The five Key Performance Indicators and their seven criteria
Criterium 1: Instances of in-group pronouns
(e.g., “us” and ”we”).
KPI 2 – Community norms and values
Criterium 3: Instances of roles played in the
community, e.g., experts, information
leaders; the roles that emerged based on
trust.
KPI 3 – Community identity and
Criterium 4: Instances of self-perception on
immigration issues
being an immigrant.
Criterium 5: Instances of a discussion on
emerging facets of immigration.
Criterium 7: Instances of interactions
concerning health, advice, and fighting
injustice.
The users‟ communications were examined in both web communities. In this
way we were able to understand the users‟ motivations in acquiring social
capital in their web communities.
6.1.3 Interviews – qualitative analysis
As a continuation of the ethnographic empirical interpretive analysis, and to
answer to RQ3: “What are the offline effects for immigrants of their web
community activities?”, we have interviewed users of each of the SERBIAN
CAFÉ and THE LOCAL web communities (Chapter 5). In order to learn how they
perceive their web activities, and how these activities influence their lives, we
conducted semi-constructed, synchronous online interviews.
Since the field of our research is characterised as an online realm, we
conducted the interviews in the same context, by using Skype. The
ethnographic study presented in Chapter 5 was carried out by analysing
material from online interviews, gathered from 12 users of the SERBIAN CAFÉ
and 12 users of THE LOCAL web community. We designed the following
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questions with the intention of giving users the opportunity to speak about
specific topics and to express their views (see Table 6.2).
Table 6.2 The five Key Performance Indicators and their interview questions
1. How did you discover a particular web
community?
2. Why did you use it?
3. What did you expect from your activity in the
web community?
KPI 2 – Community norms and values 1. Do you trust information you find?
2. Do you trust informants?
KPI 3 – Community identity and
1. Do you use web community discussions to be
immigration issues
better informed about your host country?
2. Do you meet new people online thanks to
your interaction in the web community?
3. Have you made important contacts online,
outside of your usual circle of friends or
acquaintances, thanks to your activity in the
web community?
1. How does your online activity influence your
offline life?
1. Whom do you address with your questions
most of the time?
2. Do you use the web community to meet
people in your real, offline life?
3. What types of information can you discover
thanks to the web community?
Due to the methodology employed in the third step of our fieldwork, and in
particular the fact that our data were collected through interviews, we were
able to delve beneath the surface of the users‟ daily web activities and
discover an invisible layer of the users‟ interactions. In addition, by analysing
the answers in line with previously defined KPIs, we were able to obtain a
deeper understanding of the effects that online life has on offline life. This
understanding enabled us to answer RQ3.
In section 6.2, we present the answers on the three RQs.
6.2 Answers to the RQs
In subsection 1.6 we formulated three research questions. We addressed
these research questions in Chapters 3, 4, and 5. Here we summarise our
answers to the three research questions. Our formulation can be seen as a
preliminary step for answering the Problem Statement.
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6.2.1 The main motivation (RQ1)
Our research combined three fields of interest, viz.: (1) immigration; (2)
information technology, specifically the web; and (3) social capital.
Consequently our empirical analysis began with the identification of the
motivation that drove the immigrants‟ usage of the web. This led us to the
formulation of our first research question.
RQ1: What is the motivation behind the immigrants‟ usage of the
web?
To answer RQ1 we performed an explorative investigation of a quantitative
nature. The findings signify a trend that is supported by four conclusions.
(1) There is no big difference between immigrants in their motivations for
using the web. Some immigrants seek a bonding social capital, and
others a bridging social capital. The members of both groups are
online to be better informed about the following topics:
(a) general information on immigration issues (visas, housing,
job, relocation);
(b) socialising;
(c) culture, language, and sports (both native sports and foreign
sports);
(d) following traditional media (radio and TV) and new Internet
media (newspapers, magazines, blogs, webTV ).
(2) The majority of web spaces identified by our research are deployed
by immigrants themselves with a positive, non-profit motivation.
(3) A profit orientation is identified in immigrants‟ usage of the web.
(4) Web communities with an interest in bonding social capital are more
profit-oriented than those with an interest in bridging social capital.
From these brief summaries of our four conclusions, the answer to RQ1
reads as follows.
The interactive tools that best support the users‟ communication requirements
in their web communities are those such as social networks that attract the
most attention in the field of immigration. Immigrants use the web as their
space of expression, communication, and action. The motivation of
immigrants for using the web is simultaneously directed at bonding social
capital and bridging social capital. The difference between bonding social
capital on the web and bridging social capital on the web is not identified,
except in the field of profit acquisition. Our research has pinpointed that
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bonding social capital web spaces are more motivated by profit than are
bridging social capital web spaces.
6.2.2 Is social capital a tangible acquisition? (RQ2)
After identifying the most successful and influential web spaces in both
groups (see Chapter 3), i.e., the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL, we established
that both were profit-oriented web communities. Subsequently we continued
our research by attempting to grasp the effects of the users‟ activities, within
their web communities, on the acquisition of social capital (Chapter 4). That
attempt brought us to the formulation of our second research question.
RQ2: Is the acquisition of social capital from immigrants in webcommunities a tangible acquisition?
To be able to answer RQ2, we continued our research by using a qualitative
methodological approach. We did so by employing an ethnographic
observation and interpretation of the interactions of the users of the web
community. Below we offer our six conclusions related to the five KPIs and
the differences between bonding and bridging activities.
(1) Community building - the building of a community, as expressed
through examples of in-group pronouns, is similar in both web
communities, while the building of a community as measured by
examples of the shared topic of discrimination, is expressed much
more in the SERBIAN CAFÉ than it is in THE LOCAL.
(2) Community norms and values – a positive reputation and a feeling of
trust (the latter being dependent on a positive reputation), are
normally created after a number of positive experiences. The
community norms and values in both web communities are created in
a similar way. In both web communities, members look for the
solutions to their problems from experts and information leaders in
the community who they trust.
(3) Community identity and immigration issues - the self-perception of
being an immigrant is expressed at the same level in both web
communities. The formation of immigrant groups into hierarchies is
identified in both web communities: in the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ
that split is “us” who remained, as against “them” who returned to
their native Serbia, while in THE LOCAL it is the formation of
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hierarchies based on religious grounds. However, in THE LOCAL this
split created greater tension between users than exists in the SERBIAN
CAFÉ.
(4) Diffuse reciprocal activities - these are recognised as a useful asset
by the members of the two web-based communities.
(5) Community engagement - communication via a web community is a
successful solution to the problem of how best to support others.
(6) The question as to a division between the bonding and bridging
activities has a definite answer: There is no clear division identified
between them. Users of both web communities bond and bridge
simultaneously with respect to the nature of their web community
(see below and Chapter 5).
The answer to RQ2 reads as follows. The acquisition of social capital from
immigrants in the web communities is a tangible acquisition. The reason is
that users of both communities are motivated by the acquisition of social
capital. They feel that social capital is a tangible asset. By being members of
a web community, they use the community as a space for expressing their
frustrations at being discriminated against as immigrants. They look for
solutions to their problems amongst people who they trust in their own web
communities. By helping one user they help others, since the information they
provide for one user is publicly available and other users can profit from it.
They support each other and create online and offline relationships. In other
words, they bond and bridge simultaneously.
6.2.3 The offline effects (RQ3)
In Chapter 5, as a logical continuation of our investigation, our goal was to
grasp the users‟ evaluations of their own online activities. Therefore we
formulated the third research question as follows.
RQ3: What are the real-life effects for immigrants of their web
community activities?
In order to answer RQ3 we have continued using a qualitative research
method. We have interviewed 24 users from both web communities by using
Skype. The questions designed for the interviews are listed in subsection
6.1.3.
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Our analysis of: (1) the way that users act in the web communities; and (2)
the way that they think about the effects that their activities have on their
offline life, both resulted in the identification of three offline effects, viz.
(a) a living information centre,
(b) a communication space,
(c) a relationship-building tool.
They are extensively described in Chapter 5.
6.3 Answers to the Problem Statement and our Conclusions
In this section we reiterate the most important findings of this study and we
formulate conclusions that will help us to better understand the influence of
the immigrants‟ interactions within their web community on their acquisition of
social capital.
We start by mentioning the most important findings in the field of the
methodology we employ (subsection 6.3.1). Then, in subsection 6.3.2, we
connect all the conclusions reached thus far. Subsequently we highlight the
most important discrepancies between theory and our practical results
(subsection 6.3.3). Finally, in subsection 6.3.4 we present the answer to our
Problem Statement.
6.3.1 Research methodology
The wide range of activities and goals that users expect to find in web
communities make these communities a relevant research context that spans
many disciplines and traditions. The mutual interaction between: (a) the rapid
development of technology on which web communities are based; and (b) the
networked nature of web communities, has resulted in at least two
challenging trade-offs. (1) It is essential to be aware in which way the web
communities evolve in a technological context (technology vs. norms).
Simultaneously, (2) it is essential for the social processes in general to follow
the implications of technological changes (technology vs. social processes).
The first challenging trade-off is technology vs. norms. As technologies
evolve over time, so do users, i.e., in practice, the users change norms and
interpersonal relations. Indeed, we live in an era of rapid technological
changes, resulting in the availability of a variety of web services. Any
researcher can find themself in the middle of their own analysis of a collection
214
of data. Such a researcher may discover: (1) that an important feature is
replaced; or (2) that behavioural norms have changed (cf. Ellison and Boyd,
2013). In order to produce an enduring and useful analysis, scholars must be
quite careful in documenting the time and the techno-social context of the
web service they analyse.
The second challenging trade-off is technology vs. social processes. Because
of the techno-social nature of the web community, i.e., their “living system”, it
is impossible to produce a thorough scientific result without employing both
quantitative and qualitative analytic methods. Such a combination of different
quantitative and qualitative methods as used in this research can lead to new
findings, for example we discovered a quite important “invisible layer”
(Chapter 5) of the user‟s everyday practices. Even though we began with a
quantitative analysis (Chapter 3), followed by the qualitative methods of
ethnographic analysis of the users‟ interactions (Chapter 4), we were not able
to identify the invisible layer until we were engaged in direct communication
with the users, i.e., the interviews which we conducted (Chapter 5). That
discovery happened in the following way. In order to satisfy their needs, the
users of the web community combined different technological solutions on a
daily basis. This meant that their interactions outside of their web
communities (the SERBIAN CAFÉ and THE LOCAL) were invisible to our research
methodology as described in Chapters 3 and 4. But the interviews in Chapter
5 brought the concept of the “invisible layer” to light. Therefore, we feel it is
important to stress the results we obtained from the synergy of our
quantitative and qualitative research methods. We consider the concept of
the invisible layer to be an important implicit finding of our research.
6.3.2 Connecting the conclusions of the RQs
Immigrants exhibit two parallel points of view. One gathers ideas from the
same cultural background (i.e., a bonding social capital group) while the other
connects ideas from different backgrounds (i.e., a bridging social capital
group). Moreover, our results showed that the real influence for immigrants
on the web comes from web communities. Even though the general
distribution of the web spaces for immigrants shows that approximately only
10% of these spaces are web communities, we may conclude that the most
successful web spaces are still the organisation-sponsored and profitoriented web communities. The non-profit web spaces are also identified, but
they have far less influence. It is quite interesting to note that it is the
immigrants themselves who, for non-profit motivations, deployed the majority
of web spaces identified by this research.
215
The above conclusion undoubtedly highlights a two-fold trend in the context
of immigration. Trend 1 is that web communities are on the rise. In other
words, the possibility to interact on the web is identified as a valuable tool for
treating the problems that follow the experience of immigration. Trend 2 is
that the topic of immigration is identified and addressed as a field where the
users have the potential to earn money.
Our research has identified that a web reach that has as its emphasis
bonding social capital web spaces is more motivated by profit than one which
has as its emphasis bridging social capital web spaces (Chapter 3). Clearly, a
web community creates a profitable climate for its users. It offers them the
opportunity to profit from the conviviality and the street-like economy
behaviour of its members that web communities tend to create. As we can
see from the two immigrant web communities which we have studied, the
usage of both communities is motivated by the acquisition of social capital
(Chapter 4). Users of both web communities build reputations and trust
through promoting specific social norms. Through building their online
immigrant communities and by creating a feeling of engagement within their
community, they create a space for helping and supporting each other by
performing diffuse reciprocal activities. In this way they also bond while they
bridge, and vice versa. Thanks to their lives in their web communities, users
are able to find new people with whom to talk, they are able to fight injustice,
and even to organize offline activities together.
As a result of our study of users‟ interactions within their web communities,
we identified an important but unexpected paradox. In summary, it is as
follows. The identified unifying community identity of being an immigrant can
be split into two different strands depending on the users‟ discussions. Firstly,
in the case of the SERBIAN CAFÉ, the group immigrant identity splits into “us”
who remained in their host country and “them” who returned to their
homeland, according to whether they stayed in Serbia or left there. Second,
in the case of THE LOCAL, the expression of immigrant identity splits along
religious grounds, creating a kind of immigrant hierarchy, as seen in the
immigrants‟ anti-immigration paradox (see section 4.7). We can thus observe
that the web communities simultaneously bring people together and separate
them.
Finally, our results show that contemporary immigrants live in a world
comprised of both traditional and technologically advanced models of
216
communication, and in spaces of social activity. New possibilities, as
introduced by widespread online web usage, complement more traditional
offline activities. According to the users‟ testimonies given in the interviews
we conducted, we distinguished three effects that their online activities had
on their offline lives. Thanks to the existence of the web communities, and the
users‟ practical web community approach, immigrants on the web are
empowered by using: (1) a new living information centre; (2) a new
communication space; and (3) a new relationship-building tool (see Chapter
5).
6.3.3 Answering the Problem Statement
By combining all the above conclusions into a full picture of the immigrants‟
activities, we are able to answer the Problem Statement (see Chapter 1): To
what extent do immigrants acquire social capital by using web communities?
With reference to that combination of our conclusions we arrive at the
following answer, which consists of three points.
(1) Immigrants acquire social capital by using web communities: (a) to a
large extent; (b) in a practical manner; and (c) as tools that help in
satisfying their needs with respect to community belonging, helping
and supporting each other, information provision, communication,
and building relationships.
(2) The results from our research have shown that web communities are
the most influential actors in the field of immigration on the web.
(3) Our research also revealed that the activities of bonding social capital
and bridging social capital happen simultaneously during the
activities of the immigrants in their web community.
6.3.4 Contrasting theory and research results
It is impossible to analyse immigration without analysing social capital – the
two cannot be separated. The importance of bonding and bridging social
capital for immigrant integration is well rooted in Putnam‟s statement (2000,
p. 19) “whereas bonding is to get by, bridging is to get ahead” (see Chapter
2). As acknowledged in the work of other researchers on web communication
for bonding and bridging communities (e.g, Hadi, 2013), web media provide
new opportunities for bonding and bridging communities, both in the host
country and transnationally. Previous studies of college populations and adult
populations found that using web communities relates to higher levels of
bonding and bridging social capital (cf., Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe, 2007;
Steinfield et al., 2009; Valenzuela, Park, and Kee, 2009) (see Chapter 1). An
217
analysis of the economic returns of immigrants‟ bonding and bridging social
capital (Lancee, 2010) led to the conclusion that bridging networks are
positively associated with both employment and income, while bonding
networks do not affect economic outcomes. By arguing that weak ties are
more beneficial at providing jobs, Smith (2012) confirms Lancee‟s findings.
The discovery of a positive correlation between the web communities used
and the rise of social capital within those communities prompted the question
as to whether the effects of their online usage influence the immigrants‟ social
and economic integration in one way or another (i.e., their offline lives) (see
Chapter 1). Following that line of investigation, recent studies (Ahn, 2012;
Sabatini and Sarracino, 2013) show that users of web communities acquire
higher levels of social capital both in their online and offline lives. The
research presented in this thesis was motivated by similar ideas. We refer to
section 6.4 for our recommendations as to directions for further research.
We feel it is important to emphasise the discrepancy between theoretically
introduced concepts and findings that describe the practical behaviour of
immigrants (see Chapter 1). A theoretically introduced separation of bonding
and bridging social capital activities is not recorded as a practical, behavioural
activity of immigrants. In accordance with the strict theoretical concepts of
bonding social capital and bridging social capital (see definitions 1.5 and 1.6),
the SERBIAN CAFÉ web community is defined as a bonding social capital web
community. Following the same logic, THE LOCAL is defined as a bridging
social capital web community. However, activities as performed by the users
of both communities are not strictly divided into bonding or bridging activities.
They bond and bridge simultaneously regardless of the nature of the web
community (Chapter 4).
An analogous line of reasoning applies to the theoretically introduced
“cosmopolitan” lifestyle of immigrants that emerged through their web usage
(cf. Nedelcu, 2009, 2012) (see Chapter 2). During our research we did not
encounter any traces of cosmopolitan self-perception by immigrants.
Although we find that the term “cosmopolitan” endows the lifestyle of
immigrants with an exaggerated meaning, we believe that, viewing the matter
from a strictly theoretical perspective, a cosmopolitan way of life exists to
some extent within their web communities. Most immigrants are pragmatically
oriented and they engage in everyday practices with people from other
countries (cf. Noble 2009). Wessendorf (2010) is more precise in describing
the different social relationships that arise from such “super-diverse” context,
Referring to everyday living in the ethnic, religious, linguistic and socio218
economic diversity of London‟s Hackney, where many users of immigrant
web communities live, Wessendorf (2010) introduces the two concepts of
“common place diversity” and “banal” cosmopolitanism. “To look at these
everyday practices implies taking the study of cosmopolitanism beyond a
mere description of worldviews and attitudes which enable people to interact
and communicate with a range of cultural others.” (Wessendorf, 2010, p. 18).
Practices that are related to the adoption of cultural skills and that serve the
purpose of interaction with others are described by Vertovec (2009) as
“multiple cultural competence”. They are different from cosmopolitan attitudes
or orientation. Nevertheless, both views are interesting and they may open
new vistas on the subject of immigrant integration.
6.4 Future research
The aim of this research was to contribute to scientific knowledge on the
integration of immigrants and their acquisition of social capital on the web.
We performed an analysis of the immigrants‟ web communities and showed
that web communities are practical tools, which can be quite helpful in
satisfying the immigrants‟ daily needs. During our investigation we came
across several research areas that could be suitable and useful for further
research. We now mention three main areas that we feel offer potential for
further research.
Area 1: Combining social capital with advanced software solutions
Having in mind that our research identified immigrants‟ web communities as
tools for the acquisition of social capital, we recommend continuing the
research that specifically targets the understanding of bridging social capital
potential on the web. That research should combine the development of an
appropriate (quantitative and qualitative) methodology, with a specifically
designed, tailor-made software solution (a top-down approach, where the
software solution would be specifically designed to target the acquisition of
social capital.
Area 2: Broaden the idea of the immigrant/anti-immigrant paradox
The identification of the immigrant/anti-immigration paradox has raised many
questions on the understanding of the benefits and negatives of a
multicultural dialogue on the web. We recommend deepening that research. It
should be deployed simultaneously in several EU immigrant hosting
countries, in order to test whether or not immigrants‟ web usage and social
capital acquisition are sensitive to different hosting societies, and/or different
219
cultural backgrounds. The understanding of multicultural effects on the
acquisition of bridging social capital might result in developing tools that can
facilitate integration.
Area 3: Development of advanced web community software
Aiming to create a web community tool for the online creation of bridging
social capital, we recommend the design of an action plan in which
representatives of the hosting community, volunteers, and local mentors,
would be introduced to immigrants who are in need of bridging social capital.
Deployment of a software solution for the web community, which will bring
together host citizens and immigrants in the same living “laboratory”, might
result in an understanding of how a direct dialogue influences the acquisition
of social capital. In addition, it could provide policy makers with the insights
needed to facilitate the successful integration of a help network.
220
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Appendices
Appendix A
The list of identified web sites – Serbian diaspora
1. www.radost.org
2. www.sane-boston.org
3. www.kometaboston.com
4. www.serbnatlfed.org
5. www.americanserbianclub.net
6. www.snd-us.com
7. www.serbianradiochicago.com
8. www.serbianac.org
9. www.serbianmirror.com
10. www.stsavachicago.org
11. www.slobodafolk.org
12. www.tvstvusa.com
13. www.chicagoserbs.com
14. www.serbianyellowpages.com
15. www.beoradio.com
16. www.parohija.org
17. www.svetinikolawacol.org
18. www.moraca-rozafa.org
19. www.jedinstvo.at
20. www.kud-stevanmokranjac-wien.at
21. www.klub-bambi.at.tt
22. www.vidovdan-linz.at
23. www.kszs.at
24. www.danica-salzburg.at
25. www.kud-zavicaj.at
26. www.kudkolo.com
27. www.mladost.fr
28. www.krajinapariz.com
29. www.srbija.gr
30. www.folklor.tk
31. www.srbi.org.mk
32. www.vk-bg.de
33. www.ssk-berlin.com
34. www.sv-sava.de
35. www.oro-frankfurt.de
36. www.kolo-frankfurt.de
37. www.skc-offenbach.de
38. www.njsamband.org
39. www.kosmet.no
40. www.srbska-skupnost.si
41. www.kud-mladost.net
241
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
www.skdmb.info
www.stajerska.eu
www.kd-brdo.com
www.dijaspora.nu
www.kud-biseri.ch
www.skudbrankoradicevic.ch
www.fmdizvor.ch
www.kudvsk.ch
www.kud-abrasevic.ch
www.kolo-baden.ch
www.skdzeneva.org
www.kikac.ch
www.radiodaks.com
www.folklore.ch
www.skss.ch
www.obilic.ch
www.pozoristeduga.com
www.skud-vsk.ch
www.kud-zavicaj.ch
www.serbiansociety.org.uk
www.UnitedOrthodoxAid.com
www.malabiblioteka.co.uk
http://www.srbiusvetu.org/sus/
http://dijaspora.wordpress.com/
http://www3.serbiancafe.com/lat/evropa/
http://www.serbianunity.net/
http://www.srpskadijaspora.info/index.asp
http://www.knjizara-vesti.com/
http://srbi.org/
http://www.srbiposvetu.com/
http://ovde.com/
http://www.krstarica.com/
http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-al/
http://www.yumreza.org.yu/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32474314319&ref=search
&sid=666815835.1041322194..1#/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gi
d=32474314319
77. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Srbi-usvetu/51938423932?ref=search&sid=666815835.1041322194..1
242
Appendix B
The list of identified web sites – Swedish immigration
1. http://www.afrosvenskarna.se/
2. http://www.albanskariksforbund.se/
3. http://www.armeniska.se/
4. http://www.assyriskariksforbundet.se/
5. http://www.azfi.org/
6. http://www.fedbol.com/
7. http://www.bhsavez.org/portal/
8. http://www.fris.nu/
9. http://www.grekiskariksforbundet.se/
10. http://www.iraqifias.org/
11. http://www.ettehadieh.org/
12. http://www.fais-ir.com/cms/
13. http://www.kroatiskariksforbundet.org/
14. http://www.fkks.se/
15. http://www.makedonskisojuz.com/
16. http://www.chilenska.se/
17. http://www.geocities.com/eris_emash/
18. http://faps-prf.org/
19. http://www.polskakongressen.org/
20. http://www.krigsbarn.se/RFK/default.asp
21. http://www.rurik.se/
22. http://www.kurdo.org/
23. http://srpstvo.com/
24. http://www.somsweden.com/
25. http://www.georgia.se/
26. http://www.strf.se/
27. http://www.rel.ee/
28. http://www.rskl.se/
29. http://www.rsnl-sfsf.com/
30. http://www.ingermanland.nu/
31. http://www.syrianska-riks.org/
32. http://trf.nu/joomla/index.php?lang=se
33. http://www.smosz.org/
34. http://www.victorjara.se/
35. http://www.thelocal.se
36. http://www.expatsinsweden.com/
37. http://www.democratsabroad.se
38. http://www.migrationsverket.se/
39. http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=invandrare&init=quick#/group.p
hp?v=wall&ref=search&gid=6069733297
40. http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=svenska+for+invandrare&init=q
uick#/group.php?gid=65316007048&ref=search&sid=666815835.32
03863934..1
41. http://www.swots.se/
243
244
Appendix C
Enlarged Table 3.6:
Classification of web spaces for immigrants - Serbian diaspora
ownership
class
main interest
general
general
immigration
issues
social
social
gathering
member- initiated
culture / sport
folklore,
language,
religion
ministry
activity
charity,
culture,
education,
language
religion
nonprofit
government
charity
organizationsponsored
folklore,
culture and
sport
commercial
radio
profit
media
newspapers
TV
Internet
magazine –
media portal
information
& selling
various
products:
books, cds,
music etc.
web sites
18 29 39
65 67 76
77
5
total
7
1 6 8 10
11 20 23
24 25 26
27 28 30
31 35 36
37 40 41
42 43 44
46 47 48
49 50 51
52 53 55
56 57 58
59 60 64
70 73
16 17
39
75
1
2 61
2
4 13 14
15 66 69
74
7 54
7
9 45
12 72
2
2
68 71
2
1
2
2
39 40 42
64 65 66
71 76 77
Web Communities
Total
67
10 web spaces were excluded from detailed analysis since at the time of analysis they did
not offer any information (3, 19, 21, 22, 32, 33, 34, 38, 62 and 63).
245
The numbers that appear in this table represent particular web addresses that have the same
number in the list presented in Appendix A.
Enlarged Table 3.9:
Classification of web spaces for immigrants - Swedish immigration
ownership
class
main interest
general
general
immigration
issues
learning
language
languages
memberinitiated
non-profit
folklore, culture
culture / sport
and sport
political
government
commercial
profit
media
services
Internet
magazine –
media portal
Web Communities
Total
web sites
34 5 23 39
41
total
5
40
1
123467
8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15
18 19 20 21
22 25 26 27
30 31 32 33
37
38
36
35
26
1
1
1
1
35 39 40 41
36
5 web spaces (sites 16, 17, 24, 28 and 29 ) were excluded from detailed analysis since at the
time of analysis they were either under construction or were blank.
The numbers in the “web site” column correspond to the numbers of identified web spaces
whose addresses are presented in the list in Appendix B.
246
Appendix D
1.
“...„THEY DON‟T LOVE ME BECAUSE I AM SERBIAN...”, „THEY DON‟T LOVE
ME BECAUSE I AM MUCH SMARTER OF THEM” …I CALL THAT BALKAN
PREJUDICES AND I CAN NOT LISTEN TO THAT ANYMORE..”
(posted 09. February 2010. 22.00, Discussion: Employment: Ethnic discrimination;
translated into English)
2.
“…It (discrimination) is felt immediately when you say your name (you don‟t have to
mention the surname) and also when they decide on the tasks you have to do and
how much you have to work….They changed their opinion about us as a nation
because I try, whenever I can, to introduce myself as a man first and then introduce
my beloved Serbia! Now we have fun together over tennis and football, especially
watching the Serbian teams, and together we also watch other games, so it means
they are very interested and are ok when they get to know you a little better…”.
3.
”.. and about nationality, the advance is always given to those same like you. And
in our country Serbia you can see that first…”
(posted 10. February 2010. u 09.10 Discussion: Employment: Ethnic discrimination;
4.
“You are 100% right, they hate us like plague…”
5.
“..Man, there was a war. We left because we had to..”
(posted 19. May 2010. 03.30, Discussion: Emigration: Why did you emigrated?;
6.
“..Milosevic didn‟t betrayed you, he betrayed me in Belgrade. He tried to help you
on my account. So my salary from 3000DM fell to 5 DM, so I emigrated too. If he
was not helping you I would still enjoy in Belgrade. You fight with neighbors Croats,
not me that suffered extreme consequences too. ..”
(posted 19. May 2010. 08.50, Discussion: Emigration: Why did you emigrated?;
7.
“From beginning of 90‟s many made money on our Serbian misery, so why
wouldn‟t YOU too?”
(posted 12. May 2010. 09.01, Discussion: Chicago: Help needed; translated into
English)
8.
“…What will happen then to the pension, how it is then counted and will I have a
great loss and consequences for the pension if I take those 5 months unpaid
vacation? Health insurance will be transferred after a month my husband, so that it
is not any problem, the only thing I do not know how to retire after that vacation, is
247
there some major negative consequences later?..”
(posted 06. February 2010. 07.03, Discussion: Employment: 5 moths of unpaid
vacation; translated into English)
9.
“Please can you help me with translation of this on Serbian, what does this mean: Was the claimant overpaid unemployment benefits which must be repaid or may
the repayment be waived. Was the claimant able to work and available for work. –
Thank you all for answers. GoXXX. “
(posted 15. February 2010. 01.19, Discussion: Employment: Translation; translated
into English)
10. “Buy or rent a house, apartment in the USA? The question is now ...
I'm interested in how you manage this in long-term? Do you regret entering the
story of buying property for life (credit) or that you have years of paying rent to
someone else practically spent all that money?...”
(posted 21. March 2010. 23.17 Discussion: Emigration: Buy or rent a real-estate for
living?; translated into English
11. “DanXXX, Thank you for reply…I hope that someone else that knows topic and
calculation too will comment here….”
(posted 22. mart 2010. u 14.00, Discussion: Emigration: Buy or rent real-estate for
living?; translated into English)
12. “Dear AlXXX thank you for replies. ..Many regards from GoXXX since I see you
have excellent English.”
(posted 15. February 2010. 15.35, Discussion: Employment: Translation; translated
into English)
13. “Bravo GreXXX i DanXXX. Your dialog is for clear 10. It‟s a winning combination
and I welcome your bright mind that you have and the fact that your brain is not yet
brainwashed. What GreXXX wrote I experienced before. One should be smart on
time, not to do that entire hypnotized majority does…”
(posted 24. March 2010. 23.52, Discussion: Emigration: Buy or rent real-estate for
living?; translated into English)
14. “THANKS EPEXX AND ROMAGXX! Really great! Thanks again! Regards!”
(posted 10. April 2010. 10.24, Discussion: Italy: Citizenship; translated into English)
15. “Why to ban GreXXX? Everything that he says about life in USA and NY is almost
true. I agree that his way is little bit childish and immature, but why to ban him
because of that? Just because we do not like to hear that for majority of us life in
USA is pure survival?...”
(posted 01. April 2010. 00.17, Discussion: New York: Petition to ban GregBrady;
16. “…What are the sommelier‟s salaries in Americas? And what are the possibilities to
find a job? Thanks.”
(posted 13. March 2010. Discussion: NY; translated into English)
248
17. “…most of us emigrants here in this immigrant community, are from that war story.
Would someone emigrate from a country with a good life, leave everything behind,
house, job, and friends.. “
(posted 19. May 2010. u 06.23, Discussion: Emigration: Why did you emigrated?;
18. “Here is little bit of my experience. You must go to Canada, USA or Australia. All
other countries are in such a bad economic situation, that if someone did not go to
one of these 3 countries, it would be smarter for them to have remained in the
Balkans.”
(posted 25. March 2010. u 15.30, Discussion: Emigration: Where one should
emigrate?; translated into English)
19. “I work for an international company and I start to be confronted with the problem of
ethnic discrimination. In fact, my line manager from the team favors people who are
usually without family (up to some extent I can understand that), and of course
those whose last name does not end in "vic." I am facing the fact that I do the same
job as the guy who sits across from me but since he is not "ex-YUGO" of course
every business goes through his hands first and then, what my colleagues have "no
time" to finish ends with me. I'm not saying that one of us "smarter / more
experienced" than another, but the discrimination is evident. I have nowhere to turn
since it is like our old saying says: for our elderly as she says, "Kadia sues you
Kadia is judging you" …Is there anyone out there in the virtual world that faced with
similar challenges and can advise me what is the best strategy? Regards. “
(posted 08. February 2010. u 10.55, Discussion: Employment: Ethnic
discrimination; translated into English)
20. “And just to write, I changed four companies and in each was the same, the
Canadians are on higher positions (you wouldn‟t let them to take care of three
sheep), if in any case on that position you have immigrant he has to work 10 times
more, has higher qualifications, he is smarter, longer stays at work (if he was not
working like this he could only dream of such position).”
(posted 10. February 2010. u 14.04, Discussion: Employment: Ethnic
discrimination; translated into English )
21. “You are annoying me and I feel sorry for you! Your Serbian is horrible!.. You cry
when you are in the USA that you miss Serbia, Belgrade and your village, and then
when you come to Serbia, once in three years, then you cry that you miss the USA
and you are weaned off of our food, our flies, our dirt, our friends, and that our
cigarettes suffocate you and scratch your throat, you do not understand our
humour and our world anymore, you do not understand how come we cry that we
do not have money but we are out every night having fun, and we are dressed
much better than you. You just say stupidities without anyone asking you anything”
(posted 16. April 2010. u 15.26, Discussion: USA: How do you live in USA? I am
really interested?; translated into English)
249
22. “What made me emigrate? The war. Since I am Serb but living in Croatia, and for
us there is no life there, I was banished first in 91 from one of the bigger cities in
Croatia, then in 98 again from RS Krajina, after that so called peaceful
reintegration, easier to say after Slobodan Milosevic‟s treason, which is my reason
to emigrate. If there had not been a war most probably I would never emigrate.”
(posted 19. May 2010. u 04.57, Discussion: Emigration: Why did you emigrated?;
23. “HA HA HA HA….. “cry” and “sick”…HA HA HA AND MOURNS THAT WE MIX
SERBIAN AND ENGLISH… O mother, what an idiot … HA HA HA”
24. “ha ha ha….Because of cattle like you I came to America!..”
25. “…I personally have wish to go back and hope I will in two years, if God allows, and
I wonder are there any like me thanks!”
(posted 08. November 2009. u 21.27, Discussion: NY: Return to Serbia yes or
no…; translated into English)
26. “From experience, I returned from NYC to BGD (Belgrade) – do not come back!!!!”
(posted 26. November 2009. u 20.12, Discussion: NY: Return to Serbia yes or
no…; translated into English)
27. “You will return to BGD (Belgrade) only if you are completely mad!!!!!!!...”
(posted 12. March 2010. u 07.43, Discussion: NY: Return to Serbia yes or no…;
28. “…and Belgrade is the centre of the world, [compared to Florida] even though
Belgrade has been tortured with sanctions and poverty from the many crises that
the city survived during the last 20 years. That someone from the centre of
Belgrade would really be very happy [ironically] to arrive in Florida . . . “
(posted 26. mart 2010. u 11.21, Discussion: Emigration: Where one should
29. “..Scandinavia was always and will stay peaceful place for life.”
(posted 26. mart 2010. u 14.00, Discussion: Emigration: Where one should
30. “California and Florida are hit the most with this recent collapse of real-estate in
America..”
(posted 02. april 2010. u 22.28, Discussion: Emigration: Where one should
31. “…I am very well informed on prices from San Francisco to border of Oregon
(north) and from San Jose-a up to San Diego (south) or Orange County as this
250
area is usually called…”
(posted 06. april 2010. u 23.50, Discussion: Emigration: Where one should
32. ”Norway is number 1, all other are below”
(posted 12. maj 2010. u 16.17, , Discussion: Emigration: Health system in
European countries; translated into English)
33. “Here in Italy everything is paid…”
(posted 15. maj 2010. u 11.28, Discussion: Emigration: Health system in European
countries; translated into English)
34. Discussion: Employment: Salaries abroad? - started 31. July 2009, last post 5. Jun
2010,
38 posts
35. Discussion: Emigration: Buy or rent real-estate for living? – started 21 March 2010,
last post 21. April 2010, 106 posts
36. Discussion: Employment: Professional ethnic discrimination – started 8. February
2010, last post 27. February 2010, 64 posts
37. “PeXXX contact me on my e-mail. I have a space in the middle of Belgrade, perfect
for agency but I do not have experience. I am in the mood for any deal. I have 34
years. Regards. [email protected]”
(posted 19. January 2010. 04.07, Discussion: Employment: Start job from zero;
38. “peXXX, if you live in Serbia and you would like to try to work as insurance agent,
contact me sneXXX at yahoo.com…”
(posted 20. October 2009. u 06.28, Discussion: Employment: Start job from zero;
39. “RVP, will you contact me I need some information. Thanks [email protected]”
(posted 28. March 2010. 05.40, Discussion: Employment: Job in Denmark;
40. “…contact me on [email protected] and I can explain you what I do..”
(posted 09. March 2010. 16.25, discussion: Employment: Life Insurance
Qualification program in Canada; translated into English)
41. “I am looking for a girl, 19-30 years for working in café restaurant, 2-3 months in
Canada. English is not necessary (domestic place ;-) it would be good if she is
communicative and reliable. Accommodation, food and visa and return ticket are
paid. Salary - agreement. Urgent! [email protected] “)
(posted 19. February 2010. 10.11, Discussion: Employment: Looking for employee
Urgent!; translated into English)
251
42. “Private company is looking for engineer. Company is based in Bar, Montenegro.
AutoCAD necessary. Excellent conditions. mail: [email protected] ,
0643XXX689”
(posted 04. February 2010. 12.25, Discussion: Employment: Engineer; translated
into English)
43. “well, not bad. If you are interested, call me on 980 XXX 1640”
(posted 14. April 2010. 12.08, Discussion: Emigration: Moving to denver (colorado);
44. “contact me on e-mail I will explain you, I went through all you are looking and you
are trying to do. My e-mail: [email protected]”
(posted 14. April 2010. 07.15, Discussion: Emigration: Certificat de sélection du
Québec; translated into English)
45. “contact me on e-mail [email protected]”
(posted 28. March 2010. 22.46, Discussion: Emigration: How to stay in Canada
legally! I came as a tourist; translated into English)
46. “Hello ljutbog, I would appreciate if I could contact you by e-mail, I have a question
regarding Sweden and getting papers there. My e-mail is [email protected],
so if you like contact me. Thanks in advance.”
(posted 14. April 2010. 15.54, Discussion: Emigration: How to Scandinavia?;
47. “[email protected] me, if I can help I will gladly do it milaXXX.
regards”
(posted 21. April 2010. 15.35, Discussion: Emigration: How to Scandinavia?;
48. ”…the answer is VitoXXX CerXXX. Find phone number in White pages”
(posted 27. March 2010. 02.54, Discussion: Emigration: Emigration adviser
Vankuver – URGENT; translated into English)
49. “I have to say you are boring. First visa, than green card, now you started with
naturalization. He told you nicely, give money to the lawyer, here is our man
(posted 09. April 2010. 23.48, Discussion: Emigration: Naturalization; translated
into English)
50. ” call agency XXX, ask them and they have lawyers that work and they are very
into that topic. Good luck 4-53XXX55”
(posted 19. April 2010. 12.18, Discussion: Toronto: Authorization; translated into
English)
51. ” gasverksgatan.9 dentist hXXXric cederguist tel XXX-136232, I go there, god
dentist, good price. “
252
(posted 26. March 2010. 15.28, Discussion: Scandinavia: Dentist in HelsinborgSWE?; translated into English)
52. ”GOXXX KUXXX; 2603 LE BXXXC CT; LOUISVILLE, KY 40206”
(posted 29. April 2010. 19.14, Discussion: USA: Looking for friend; translated into
English)
53. “…Hello ViloletXXXrd, you have guts and I respect that  If you are in Toronto, I
agree –let‟s have a coffee.”
54. “… He told you nicely, give money to the lawyer, here is our man
(posted 09. April 2010. 23.48, Discussion: Emigration: Naturalization; translated
into English)
253
254
Appendix E
1.
“ What a stranage question to ask of immigrants. Also, how could "ethnic nonSwedes" be in Sweden suffering abuse at the hands of Swedish men before there
was immigration?”
(posted 16.Sep.2009, 02:11 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: What was Sweden
like before immigrants?)
2.
“…That is why many of us has moved..”
(posted 16.Sep.2009, 10:04 PM Discussion: Life in Sweden: What was Sweden
like before immigrants?)
3.
“Why on earth are there so many racists on this forum? We don't like racists in
Sweden so if I was using your logic, you should either accept our "soft politicians"
or go home.”
(posted 21.Sep.2009, 12:58 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Now here‟s a thought
regard immigration…)
4.
“… We have lived in english speaking countries before and u could get job with
your own accent provided u speak proper and correct english… what do we do with
people from skåne or småland that have strange accents.”
(posted 2.Mar.2010, 12:46 PM, Discussion: Swedish themes: News via The Local)
5.
“Hi there, Am registered with the local barnmorska clinic but was dismayed to learn
that my first ultrasound won't be until the 18th (!!) week of pregnancy. I had several
complications in my last pregnancy and am disturbed to know that something could
be wrong and I won't know until 18 weeks/fetus won't be monitored closely.Does
anyone know of places in or north of Stockholm where I can get an ultrasound
earlier?...”
(posted 19.Apr.2010, 02:27 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Getting an ultrasound
before 18 weeks?)
6.
“…Let's say that my income is 310,000 SEK per year. How much money will i get
after excluding all the TAXes ?? Also, Do i get taxed for 1st year ? i will most likely
to start in September, 2010...when i do i have to pay tax?? …”
(posted 19.May.2010, 11:07 AM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: How much tax will I
pay in the end?)
7.
“Hi all, Just wondering if anyone ever tried applying for Residence Permit to join
partner in Sweden, while you are residing in middle east? I am not middle eastern
just happen to live here at present…. ”
(posted 27.Oct.2009, 02:53 PM, Discussion: Swedish themes: Visas/permits:
Residence Permit Applying from Middle East)
8.
” If you are NOT married then you would be applying based on family ties ie
a sambo permit. I have one of these and as I am NOT married to my partner I of
course did not have to supply a marriage certificate. Have you told migrationsverket
255
that you are married? I know that as part of my application I had to show my
divorce papers from a previous relationship...Bottom line is, is that you do not have
to be married to a swede to apply for a permit to come and live here with them. But
you must be able to prove that your relationship is real. Good luck.”
(posted27.Oct.2009, 03:30 PM, Disussion: Swedish themes: Visas/permits:
Residence Permit Applying from Middle East)
9.
“Have you had your teaching credentials authorised by HSV? Because of the new
rules that will require municipalities to hire only licensed teachers this may be an
issue. The rules are here - you wll needgymnasiet Svenska B or TISUS to get
registered http://www.hsv.se/qXXXcationsrecognitio...7480002102.html …”
(posted 21.Apr.2010, 02:17 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Applying for teaching
posts in secondary schools)
10. “You got a dependent RP because that is what you applied for. You could have
applied for two primary RP based on SE, but it could get really complicated if one
of the applications got rejected or delayed.”
(posted 9.Jun.2010, 10:24 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Oh my god!
Migrationsverket, I need help! SOS!)
11. “Exactly, You have applied both in one application. If you were to get separate
status, you should have applied in two applications individually.”
(posted 10.Jun.2010, 00:59 AM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Oh my god!
Migrationsverket, I need help! SOS!)
12. "Since you are posting on an immigrant site ...”
(posted 8.Apr.2010, 09:19 AM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: The Multicultural fate)
13. "... I‟m an immigrant writing on a immigrant forum, and my intention is to promote a
debate on this subject, reason, as far I‟m know, forums like this exist."
14. (posted 8.Apr.2010, 10:19 AM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: The Multicultural fate)
15. "As of Autumn 2010 it will be much harder to get into university in Sweden if you
are are not Swedish....This actually goes against any EU mandate, in sense the
rules are being broken by Sweden and it is a form of discrimination to us who are
not Swedish. What are your thoughts on this matter?"
(posted 26.Feb.2010, 12:41 PM, Discussion: Swedish News: Foreign Students
discriminated against...)
16. "The Swedish judicial system is openly racistic with 95% ethnic Swedes as judges
and lawyers. Swedish policemen are 99% ethnic Swedes and they discriminate
and persecute immigrants. Coming back to Sweden from UK I was stricken by a
photo of an immigrant with an arabic name saying "Welcome to my city Stockholm".
How ridiculous! They need photos! In UK when you arrive at the airport you can
see many immigrants or people with immigrant descent working in the airport, all
kinds of people with strong foreign accents, women with muslim scarfs, sikhs with
turbans working as immigration officers."
(posted 18.Mar.2010, 11:08 AM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Are we really racist?)
256
17. "It seems true that Swedes are inclined to discriminate against foreignlooking/sounding persons."
(posted 18.Mar.2010, 11:43 AM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Are we really racist?)
18. “How British rate themselves here, Immigrants or Locals ??”
(posted 27.Dec.2009, 01:31 PM, Disussion: Swedish themes: News via The Local:
Swedes positive about immigration: poll)
19. ” Educated immigrants is what Sweden needs. Things have changed alot since
1986 (when I arrived here from South Africa) and getting a well paid job is much
easier. One just has to refuse to be downgraded.”
20. “I also think that in general Swedes are not so anti immigration as it may appear.
I've had discussions with people who welcome SD rising and getting so much
support, even though they don't welcome it or when challenging the immigration
fobia, they will say that they don't have a problem with immigration in general.
Instead it is some group they target they hate against, like muslims who come from
a culture which is alien to Swedes. I think it is very easy to target them, because
many of them have an extremely hard time to integrate into Swedish society and
end up on the debit side of the welfare state and most Swedes cannot see how
they can ever cross over to the credit side.”
21. “The question should have been asked differently because not all immigrants are
equal.
If they had asked if European immigration to Sweden had been beneficial the
number of 'Yes' votes would have probably been much higher. If they had asked if
African, Mid-East, or South Asian immigration had been beneficial to Sweden the
numbers would have probably been much lower.”
22. “I hope Immigration will be on the basis of skill not for the false and intentional
asylum seekers !!! Just like north America !! I feel and see all around that Sweden
is getting to be a free home for the Islamic extremists !!”
(posted 28.Dec.2009, 03:19 AM, Disussion: Swedish themes: News via The Local:
23. “Viking, just to make things more complicated - in Uk, we have many E. .european
migrants or workers, from places like Poland, Lithuania, Romania etc, who are
violent criminals, rapists, human traffickers etc. They are not Black or Muslim. But
they are in the EU. So they have freedom of movement. Many of Poland +
Romanis' most wanted criminals are in UK. So it is also a question of poor
immigraiton control and security, as well as race and religion”
257
24. “MSVT usually asks for a proof of health insurance if granting an RP that does not
allows the applicant to use public healthcare system. i.e. RP valid for less than 12
months in duration.”
(posted 7.Apr.2010, 10:26 PM, Discussion Life in Sweden: Pregnant in Sweden)
25. “I got my personal number. We contacted "Försäkringskassan" (tax office), we got
our 12,000kr and then some because for our son's first year we were not getting
the "Barnbidrag" (child help). I did not even know about it until my mother-in-law
asked if we were getting it.”
(posted 9.Apr.2010, 03:30 PM, , Discussion Life in Sweden: Pregnant in Sweden;
26. “…However genuinely and officially billigual preschools where both languages are
spoken all the time are not so common: - there are many Swedish speaking
dagises where the staff speak Swedish and where specialist first
language support is available, - or there are International English speaking dagises
where English is the main language and where Swedish is taught and spoken as
well…”
(posted 26.Jan.2009, 06:30 PM, Discussion: Swedish themes: Newcomers)
27. “You would need to pay cash for a house in Sweden if you are not living/working
here. Banks will need to have proof of income in Sweden and you would need to be
registered in Sweden to be able to open a bank account. All house owners pay a
property tax which is variable on the property with a top charge of 6,000 Kr per
year.”
(posted 20.Apr.2010, 11:57 AM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Should I buy house
now or wait?)
28. “Because I am English and based in London, I had to get a 'non-residential'
mortgage - which I assume you will have to get unless you get a UK bank-based
mortgage. The downside of having this non-residential mortgage is firstly, the
interest rates are slightly higher to offset the risk of a foreigner defaulting and also,
you will not be able to claim back the interest payments from your income tax
as Swedes can do (mortgage interest is non-tax deductable in the UK)”
(posted 20.Apr.2010, 12:01 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Should I buy house
now or wait?)
29. Discussion: Swedish themes: Newcomers: How do I use little security keypad? –
started 30.May.2010, last post 31.May.2010, 18 posts
30. Discussion: Swedish themes: Finance: Handelsbanken and nordea refused? –
started 29.May.2010, last post 3.Jun.2010, 28 posts
31. Discussion: Life in Sweden: How to get health card? – started 24.May.2010, last
post 28.May.2010, 19 posts
258
32. Discussion: Swedish theme: Visas/permits: Residence permit waiting times –
started 13.Sep.2009, last post 6.Jun.2010, 110 posts
33. Discussion: Regional life: Stockholm: Insight into working at Marcus Evans –started
4.July 2006, last post 4.Mar.2010, 56 post
34. “Do you want cheap or do you want good - at a reasonable price? Check out:
http://www.tXXXors.se/”
(posted 17.Apr.2010, 11:59 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: The cheapest butcher
in Stockholm)
35. “You can try this private practice next to Stadion tube station: www.tittutuXXXud.se”
(posted 19.Apr.2010, 02:03 PM, Discussion: Life in Sweden: Getting an ultrasound
before 18 weeks?)
36. “Hi, My name is FaXXX and currently working in Singapore and R&D(PCB Design
Engineer). I love to help you with this solution and with any other projects in the
pipeline. Please email me or give me your email address and contact number i will
contact you [email protected]”
(posted 18.Oct.2009, 03:20 PM, Discussion: Classified adverts: Nationwide: PCB
design help, paid work fro a working solution)
37. “Check out: http://www.filiusXXX.se/ It's in Huddinge, not Flemingsberg, but it's
right near the train station. Great place, great people. My youngest went there and I
worked there a while.”
(posted 25.Sep.2009, 04:59 PM, , Discussion: Regional life: Stockholm: English
speaking daycare Stockholm)
38. “You could try this place, although I am unaware of prices for the course. Good
luck! http://www.websitefolder.net/ArmXXXss/Start(1).asp?pass=”
(posted 8.Feb.2010, 08:58 PM, Discuss: Regional life: Gothenburg: Group
personal training)
39. “i have used KungXXX once,and my experience was good...though i do not know
how competitive in price they are but then what is in Sweden 
www.kungXXXs.se”
(posted 3.Apr.2010, 08:51 AM, Discuss: Other themes: World travel: Moving to
NYC, movers recommendation)
40. “check out FridXXXrjeson. +46(0)76XXX 44 10, [email protected] She is
an amazing photographer and has her own darkroom for developing and doing
prints. She will probably know a repro printer too. www.fridabXXXson.com.”
(posted 7.Apr.2010, 04:35 PM, Discussion: Regional life: Stockholm: Printer in
Stockholm)
259
41. “South Africans?? OF COURSE I'll be wearing my Bokke shirt too! Wouldn't be a
complete home meetup without it. So when should we plan this thing? Friday Jan
22nd? Or should we make it after payday?””
(posted 7.Jan.2010, 08:11 PM, Discussion: Regional life: Stockholm: South
Africans in Stockholm)
42. “I've been in Gothenburg for the last year and a half. Whereabouts in Gothenburg
do you live? Myself and the other members of "Team Gothenburg" (comprised of
English speaking expats/immigrants living in this fair city) regularly get together for
beers at one of the local pubs. It would be great to have you come along for one of
these events, if you're up for it. ”
(posted 20.Sep.2009, 05:11 PM, Discussion: Regional life: Gothenburg: American
living in Gothenburg)
43. ” If you are into outdoor team sports of a different kind, you would be very welcome
to come try Australian Football with the Solna AXXXen Australian Football Club….
[email protected]”
(posted 26.Apr.2010, 11:58 AM, Discussion: Regional life: Stockholm: Bored in
Stockholm)
44. “…Let`s try to sort something out swiftly and easily, then I guess if y`all want to
email me at benzeXXX (AT)yahoo.com we can exchange mobile numbers etc.
T`would be excellent to see the same faces from The Rover in particular.”
(posted 2.Aug.2006, 04:27 PM, Discussion: Regional life: Gothenburg: Team
Gothenburg)
45. “…Maybe one of you guys could send me your mobile number? just so that i dont
look like such an idiot if i get lost, or your not there! my email is
[email protected], and numeber is 07747XXX018 ;-)
ciao for now”
(posted 20.Oct.2006, 03:14 PM, Discussion: Regional life: Gothenburg: Team
Gothenburg)
46. “Join The Dubliner's Facebook Group to keep yourself
updated. http://www.facebooXXXubs?ref=ts”
(posted 4.Apr.2010, 02:47 PM, Discussion: Regional life: Gothenburg: English
speaking comedy club at Dubliner fact!)
47. “Hi, I'm from SA - came here from CPT 4 years ago. I'm sure the South African
Society in Sweden (Facebook: http://www.facebook. XXXphp?gid=28492987040 )
would like to hear from you, and the Stockholm Expat Meetup group
(Facebook:http://www.facebook.comXXXup.php?gid=321575880144 ) is also great
for meeting English speakers. Of course you'll become one of the Borg once you
learn the language, but until then there is enough expat company  Cheers en
sterkte,GD”
(posted 5.Jan.2010, 08:36 PM, Discussion: Regional life: Stockholm: South
Africans in Stockholm)
260
Appendix F
Interviews – the Serbian Café
[ 8:34:27 PM] Novi Covek: ok,
[ 8:34:43 PM] Novi Covek: kazi mi kako si pronasao serbian cafe, kako ej doslo do toga da g
akorisits?
[ 8:34:55 PM] SC_ : uzece vise vremena danas mi je jednoj cerki rodjendan ocekujem goste
pa ne bih da prekidam
[ 8:35:13 PM] Novi Covek: srecan rodjendan!
[ 8:35:32 PM] SC_ : pre 12 godina ziveo sam tada u chicagu i dobio sam adresu od nekog
poznanika
[ 8:35:39 PM] SC_ : hvala
[ 8:35:46 PM] Novi Covek: a zbog cega? koje ti je motivaciaj bila?
[ 8:36:27 PM] SC_ : motivacija je bila uspostavljanje kontakta sa ljudima slicnih osobina koje
ne poznajem
[ 8:36:37 PM] Novi Covek: kakvih slicnih osobina?
[ 8:36:48 PM] SC_ : kao i informacije iz otadzbine
[ 8:37:42 PM] SC_ : osobina kao sto su zelja za komuniciranjem ,razmena informacija i licnih
iskustva sa osobama koje ne zive u mojoj okolini
[ 8:38:06 PM] Novi Covek: aha, zeleo si da kontaktiras, komuniciras sa ljudima koji nisu u
tvojoj blizini?
[ 8:38:19 PM] SC_ : moracu da prekinem na minut ,pecem nekakvo meso
[ 8:38:23 PM] Novi Covek: hahaok
[ 8:38:24 PM] SC_ : izvini
[ 8:38:25 PM] Novi Covek: nema problema
[ 8:38:27 PM] Novi Covek: sve je ok
[ 8:40:25 PM] SC_ : ok tu sam da zelja za komuniciranjem i informisanjem
[ 8:40:39 PM] Novi Covek: ali zasto bas sa ljudima koji nisu u tvojoj okolini?
[ 8:41:37 PM] SC_ : ljudi koji su u mojoj okolini su mi bili dostupni i sa njima sam se vidjao ili
kontaktirao telefonom,nismo poznavali previse ljudi u chicagu
[ 8:41:52 PM] SC_ : kasnije smo znali pola Chicaga i oni nas
[ 8:42:03 PM] Novi Covek: kome se obracas na serbian kafeu?
[ 8:42:16 PM] Novi Covek: kakve informacije mogu da se nadju tamo na diskusijama?
[ 8:43:05 PM] SC_ : obracam se ljudima u poslednje vreme diskutantima sa
naviaca,politika,gradovi i drzave,i emigracija
[ 8:43:22 PM] Novi Covek: a kome si se obracao tada na pocetku koriscenja sc?\
[ 8:43:55 PM] SC_ : tada je bilo diskusija .gradovi i drzave,i chat room
[ 8:44:10 PM] Novi Covek: kakve informacije si trazio?
[ 8:44:33 PM] SC_ : tada mi je bila potrebna pomoc oko sredjivanja papira
[ 8:45:14 PM] SC_ : pokusao sam na taj nacin da cujem iskustva drugih
[ 8:45:22 PM] Novi Covek: i? jesu ti pomogli?
[ 8:45:47 PM] SC_ : tu si
[ 8:45:56 PM] Novi Covek: mislim ljudi na sc?
[ 8:46:19 PM] Novi Covek: da, nesto je stalo
[ 8:46:45 PM] Novi Covek: ne znam da li su ti stigle moje poruke
261
[ 8:47:04 PM] SC_ : ne bas ali sam dolazio do raznih informacija tj tudjih iskustva oko
statusa u americi
[ 8:47:25 PM] Novi Covek: da li verujes infromacijama koje dobijes na sc?
[ 8:48:23 PM] SC_ : verujem ,jer i sam sam nudio drugima svoje iskustvo iskreno sam pricao
svoju sudbinu tako da sam verovao i drugima
[ 8:48:54 PM] Novi Covek: da li koristis ili si koristio sc da se informises o cikagu, zivotu tamo,
ili o kanadi gde sada zivis?
[ 8:50:15 PM] SC_ : Vise u chicagu nego u Kanadi,ovde sam vise pomagao svojim info nego
sto sam trazio pomoc u poslednej tri godine pomogli smo nekoliko familija i indvidualnih
slucajeva da srede papire bez ikakve nadoknade
[ 8:50:31 PM] Novi Covek: svala cast
[ 8:50:35 PM] Novi Covek: svaka cast!
[ 8:50:50 PM] Novi Covek: zanimljiva ti je zivotna prica
[ 8:51:00 PM] SC_ : ne hvalim se ali familija mi je nevidjena mislimo kao jedna dusa
[ 8:51:06 PM] Novi Covek: a da li si ostvario neka poznanstva van kruga svojih prijatelja
preko sc?
[ 8:51:27 PM] SC_ : upravo smo zavrsili jednu humanitarnu akciju za obolelog prijatelja iz
Bgd
[ 8:51:42 PM] Novi Covek: dragi moj, to je divno da se kaze. svaka cast. uvek kazu za nas a
smo svadjalci narod, ali eto ima neko ko ima divnu familiju
[ 8:51:50 PM] Novi Covek: bravo.
[ 8:52:38 PM] SC_ : upznao sam preneki dan nekog coveka preko sc zivi u Chicagu i znamo
iste ljude sada smo cesto na skype mada sam sa vremenom slab
[ 8:53:06 PM] Novi Covek: dobro , to je poznastvo vezano za krug tvojih prijatelja zar ne?
[ 8:53:31 PM] SC_ : nismo mi svadjalacki narod ,mislim da smo previse ponosni na sebe i ne
prihvatamo tudje sugestije i ideje
[ 8:53:34 PM] Novi Covek: jesi ga upoznao licno sto se kaze u realnom izovtu ili online?
[ 8:53:53 PM] Novi Covek: zanimljivo, kako ti to vidis. daj boze da si ti u pravu
[ 8:54:55 PM] SC_ : online pre nekoliko meseci sam upznao porodicu kojoj je bila potrebna
pomoc oko emigracije imaju malu decu bio sam kod njih kuci zive 1300 km od mene
[ 8:55:35 PM] Novi Covek: cekaj, znaci imas neke nove ljude koji si upoznao preko sc online,
a imas i one koje si posle upoznao offline??
[ 8:56:26 PM] SC_ : da mislim preko sc jedne sam licno posetio ili oni mene a sa nekima
kontaktiram preko skype sada ili sc
[ 8:57:04 PM] Novi Covek: pa kako je doslo do toga da nekoga koga si upoznao online posle
upoznas offline? kako ide proces? kako se to desava? i zasto?
[ 8:57:32 PM] SC_ : sta bi
[ 8:57:56 PM] Novi Covek: jesi tu
[ 8:58:20 PM] SC_ : hello
[ 9:08:34 PM] SC_ : nista javi se nekom drugom prilikom
[ 9:22:58 PM] Novi Covek: hej tu sam
[ 9:23:07 PM] Novi Covek: jesi ti jos tu?
[ 9:24:29 PM] Novi Covek: ok javi se kad ti bude odgovaralo
++++
[6:33:58 PM] SC_ : mozemo nastaviti sada ako budem morao daidem prekinucemo
[6:34:16 PM] Novi Covek: sada odmah mozete?
[6:34:20 PM] SC_ : da
[6:34:25 PM] Novi Covek: e super,
262
[6:34:36 PM] SC_ : nemoj da mi persiras
[6:34:49 PM] Novi Covek: ok da vas podsetim stali smo kod toga da ste preko sc upoznali
neke ljude. pa ste mi rekli kako
[6:34:51 PM] Novi Covek: ok haha
[6:34:55 PM] Novi Covek: bez persiranja
[6:35:09 PM] Novi Covek: pa si mi rekao da si neke i licno u poznao
[6:35:16 PM] SC_ : da upoznao sam dosta ljudi
[6:35:34 PM] Novi Covek: e to me zanima, kako ste se upoznali prvo inline?
[6:35:49 PM] SC_ : zajednica u kojoj zivimo nema previse nasih ljudi
[6:36:28 PM] SC_ : da upoznao sam ih putem interneta kasnije smo uspostavili telefonski
kontakt i neke sam sreo
[6:37:00 PM] Novi Covek: a te sto si upoznao na sc preko interneta, kako si ih upoznao? na
diskusijama? kakv ej to odnos bio
[6:37:13 PM] SC_ : sve koje sam sreo sada su mi prijatelji
[6:37:26 PM] SC_ : da upznao sam ih putem diskusija
[6:37:40 PM] Novi Covek: jesu tebi oni nesto pomogali ili ti njima?
[6:37:46 PM] Novi Covek: koja je priroda odnosa bila
[6:37:48 PM] SC_ : ili mi ih je neko preporucio sa diskusija koje sam upoznao ranije
[6:37:53 PM] Novi Covek: ili onako iz caskanja
[6:37:59 PM] Novi Covek: te ljuude?
[6:38:07 PM] Novi Covek: neko ti je prporucio te ljude?
[6:38:58 PM] SC_ : pomoc nisam previse dobijao direktno .u pocetku sam zeleo da razmenim
licna iskustva oko emigrije ili struke kojom se bavim
[6:39:30 PM] SC_ : da preporuke sam dobijao vecinom vezane za poslove koje sam se bavio
a to je ugostiteljstvo
[6:39:54 PM] Novi Covek: i onda si caskajuci sa ljudima stekao i poznanike, online?
[6:40:12 PM] SC_ : u sustitni da
[6:40:39 PM] SC_ : internet je strasna stvar pravi se netvork kao paukova mreza
[6:41:00 PM] Novi Covek: hhaha, lepo poredjenje, kako to mislis? kako to funkcionise u
praksi?
[6:43:50 PM] SC_ : upoznao sam naprimer nekoliko ljudi vezanih za Crvenu zvezdu za koju
navijam,igrala je zvezda utakmicu u Chicagu,trebale su mi karte ,video sam na diskusijama
navijaci da se organizovano ide na utakmicu tj da nekoliko momaka kupje 2000 karata da bi
svi bili zajedno,kontaktirao sam iha jer ostavili e mail,preko njih sam kasniej u Chicagu
upznao i ljude iz mjamia,arizon i drugih gradova amerike i kanade
[6:44:54 PM] SC_ : onda sam ih ja spojio sa ljudima koje ja poznajem tako da nas ima sada
preko 200 koji kontaktiramo od tada ,
[6:44:56 PM] Novi Covek: znaci kad se upoznate online, onda preko neceg drugog (mejl na
primer) pocnete da kontaktirate
[6:45:10 PM] SC_ : da
[6:45:11 PM] Novi Covek: uh! pa kako dodje do pravog fizickog susreta
[6:45:29 PM] Novi Covek: i kako si tako brzo razgrano mrezu preko 200 ljudi??
[6:46:11 PM] SC_ : obicno trazim telefon i nazovem jer zivim 100km od posla ilakse mi je
teleonom da kontaktiram jer mi prolazi brze vreme dok vozim kuci i do posla
[6:47:03 PM] SC_ : prosledio sam svojim istomislejnicima kontakte {e mail,br telefona itd}
[6:47:33 PM] SC_ : vezuje nas ista stvar Crvena Zvezda
263
[6:47:36 PM] Novi Covek: da li su ti ti ljudi koje si upoznao online, a onda i oni koje si kasnije
upoznao ofline, u pravom zivotu, da li ti je neki od tih kontakata bitan, znacajan u bilo kom
smislu?
[6:50:43 PM] SC_ : jeste,upoznao sam tog momka koji je organizovao akciju da se navijace
skupe na jednoij tribini,dosli smo do trenutka kada smo s e sreli i razmenili dosta licnih stvari
jedno sa drugim koje sta i gde cinio ,sada radimo na tome da organizujemo tj d anastavimo
humanoitarnu akciju koju sam ja zapoceo o prikupljanju sredstava za dalje leenje bolesnog
prijatelaj koje g i on takodje poznaje,inace taj novi poznanik je i predstavnik organizacije Srbi
Za Srbe
[6:51:29 PM] Novi Covek: znaci doslo je i do vrlo ozbiljnih prijateljskih i humaniterano
proefsionalnih kontakata
[6:51:56 PM] Novi Covek: da li koristsi sc da bi stekao nova poznanstva, prijateljstva?
[6:53:40 PM] SC_ : ne bas toliko sada jer sam sa vremenom sve kraci ,takodje i razlog je sto
je internet dostupan svakome pogotovo mnogimakoji mogu da u pogresnom smeru koriste
licne informacije veoma oprezno stupam u kontakt sa novim poznanicima
[6:54:01 PM] SC_ : uvek trazim telefon ili e mail adresu
[6:54:02 PM] Novi Covek: a da li si ga nekda koristio u te svrhe? na pocetku?
[6:54:31 PM] SC_ : da li sma sta koristio nekada ?Internet
[6:54:56 PM] Novi Covek: ne serbina cafe, da li si ga ikada koristio da upoznajes nove ljude
[6:55:51 PM] SC_ : serbian cafe sam koristio ,i koristim jer sam navikao na taj site,i poznajem
dosta ljudi preko sc
[6:56:27 PM] SC_ : mada se mnogo oristi pseudonime za predstavkljanje ali znam pod kojim
su
[6:56:33 PM] Novi Covek: kapiram, ali da li mozes da kazes za sebe da ti je motivacije sc u
bilo kom trenutku bila da upoznajes nove ljude preko sc?
[6:56:55 PM] SC_ : sc nije mi motivacija
[6:57:22 PM] Novi Covek: ok, ali da ti je upoznavanje novih ljudi na sc bila motivacija da
koristis sc diskusije?
[6:57:37 PM] SC_ : ne bAS
[6:58:01 PM] Novi Covek: ok, znaci poznanstva su se desila slucajno, nisi to trazio
[6:58:39 PM] SC_ : nisam isao 100% sa namerom da bih upoznao nekoga
[6:58:58 PM] SC_ : komentarisanjem topika doslo je do poznanstva
[6:59:13 PM] Novi Covek: ok, kapiram, da je to doslo slucajno. da li mozes jos da mi kazes
kako bi okarakterisao uticaj serbian cafea koji on ima na tvoj zivot?
[7:00:07 PM] SC_ : nije previse uticao na moj zivot
[7:02:06 PM] SC_ : u pocetku je bilo zanimljivo bez obaveze ali npr mog brata od tetke sc je
doveo do razvoda braka jer je upoznao zenu iz australije i zbog nje se razveo sa svojom
zenom
[7:03:04 PM] SC_ : hello
[7:03:09 PM] Novi Covek: hahah
[7:03:15 PM] Novi Covek: pa cekaj razmisljam vidi kakva ti je prica
[7:03:27 PM] Novi Covek: dobro za tebe kazes nema preveliki uticaj
[7:03:29 PM] Novi Covek: a tih 200 ljudi koji su okupljeni kao pauzkova mreza, jel to bila
zasluga serbian cafea?
[7:04:22 PM] SC_ : ne to je bila vise moja licna zasluga zbog svoje komunikacije ,sc je bio
samo posrednik za kontakt
[7:04:39 PM] SC_ : sc ima zslugu indirektno
[7:04:46 PM] Novi Covek: pa da li je kao posrednik imao znacaj?
264
[7:04:49 PM] Novi Covek: ok.
[7:05:24 PM] Novi Covek: branko hvala ti puno,
(2)
[7:43:52 PM] Novi Covek: e super
[7:44:20 PM] Novi Covek: ok, kazi mi molim te kako si pronasao serbian cafe? kako ej doslo
do toga da ga krostis
[7:44:23 PM] Novi Covek: koristis
[7:44:31 PM] SC_ : Ok
[7:44:37 PM] SC_ : kada sam dosao u Kanadu
[7:44:41 PM] SC_ : pre 6 god
[7:44:49 PM] SC_ : drugar iz mineapolisa
[7:45:11 PM] SC_ : mi je dao savet da tu mogu da se informmisem vezano za desavanja u
sprskoj zajednici
[7:46:21 PM] SC_ : P.S. U ovom slucaju mogu da pustim ton sa utakmice
[7:46:32 PM] Novi Covek: ma da!
[7:46:43 PM] Novi Covek: u srpskoj zajednici gde?
[7:47:03 PM] SC_ : U Torontu
[7:47:25 PM] Novi Covek: aha, zeleo si kad si se doselio da imas tu vrstu informacije?
[7:47:29 PM] Novi Covek: zasto?
[7:47:50 PM] SC_ : Da bih prvenstveno upoznao nase ljude
[7:47:58 PM] SC_ : tj nasao ekipu za fudbal
[7:48:05 PM] Novi Covek: i ?
[7:48:17 PM] SC_ : medjutim ekipu sam nasao ali mi nije SC pomogao u tome
[7:48:31 PM] Novi Covek: a za koje svrhe koristis SC?
[7:48:43 PM] Novi Covek: koje diskusije citas? kojim diskusijama doprinosis?
[7:49:01 PM] SC_ : Ok Koristim da vidim kad ima neka predstava
[7:49:15 PM] SC_ : citam vesti
[7:49:30 PM] SC_ : diskusije koje sam koristio bile su Toronto
[7:49:44 PM] SC_ : ali ih ne koristim vise obzirom da su blede
[7:49:50 PM] SC_ : nema tu sta da se nauci
[7:49:56 PM] SC_ : onda mnogo cenzure
[7:50:00 PM] SC_ : itd
[7:50:11 PM] SC_ : da koristio sam diskusije muzika
[7:50:21 PM] Novi Covek: a jel bilo tada na tvom pocetku u kanadi necega zbog cega si ga
koristio?
[7:50:32 PM] SC_ : ali i to sam prestao zbog ukidanja koriscenja rapid share
[7:50:51 PM] SC_ : Uglavnom u prve dve god
[7:51:08 PM] SC_ : sada pogledam iste ponekad retko ali nikad ne ucestvujem
[7:51:20 PM] Novi Covek: ali u te prve dve godine sta si radio na sc?
[7:51:27 PM] Novi Covek: zasto si koristio?
[7:51:31 PM] SC_ : trazio sam drustvo
[7:51:37 PM] SC_ : uglavnom
[7:51:38 PM] Novi Covek: pa jesi li ga nasao?
[7:51:39 PM] SC_ : recimo
[7:51:46 PM] SC_ : drustvo za voznju bicikla
[7:51:48 PM] SC_ : fudbal
[7:51:50 PM] SC_ : klizanje
[7:51:52 PM] Novi Covek: to si nasao?
265
[7:52:01 PM] SC_ : nazalos ne preko kafe
[7:52:13 PM] SC_ : mislim da su ljudi na tom forumu zatvoreni
[7:52:15 PM] Novi Covek: hajde mi malo to objasni
[7:52:26 PM] Novi Covek: kako si dosao do tih ljudi?
[7:52:35 PM] SC_ : do kojih
[7:52:45 PM] Novi Covek: pa to za voznju bicikla, fudbal, klizanje
[7:53:03 PM] SC_ : Jedini uspeh bila je voznja bicikla
[7:53:08 PM] SC_ : okupilo se nas 5
[7:53:17 PM] SC_ : ali nista nakon toga
[7:53:19 PM] Novi Covek: ali kako funkcionise to? prvo se upoznate na SC?
[7:53:25 PM] SC_ : da
[7:53:29 PM] Novi Covek: i onda?
[7:53:46 PM] SC_ : i onda smo razmenili e-mail
[7:53:51 PM] Novi Covek: aha
[7:53:59 PM] SC_ : i dogovorili da se vidimo u jednoj voznji
[7:54:03 PM] Novi Covek: i?
[7:54:05 PM] SC_ : koja je ostala samo jedna
[7:54:09 PM] Novi Covek: zasto?
[7:54:17 PM] SC_ : valjde su ljudi ocekivali masovniji odziv
[7:54:44 PM] Novi Covek: ok. a da li si uopste u koriscenju SC stekao neki znacajan kontakt
online?
[7:54:51 PM] SC_ : ne
[7:54:54 PM] Novi Covek: da li ti je neko od usera vazan kontakt?
[7:55:00 PM] Novi Covek: u bilo kom smislu?
[7:55:20 PM] SC_ : pa nisam stekao dobar kontakt
[7:55:32 PM] Novi Covek: znaci nista posebno ni online ni offline
[7:55:33 PM] SC_ : nekako okrenuo sam se drustvu iz skole
[7:55:36 PM] SC_ : nisu nasi
[7:55:44 PM] SC_ : i ja sam se uklopio sa njima
[7:56:01 PM] Novi Covek: a sta ocekujes od svoje aktivnosti na serbina kafeu?
[7:56:03 PM] SC_ : ali ne kazem da je to sto nisu nasi nego mi je zivot tako namestio
[7:56:25 PM] SC_ : da vidim vest da je zvezda izgubila utakmicu kao danas
[7:56:44 PM] Novi Covek: a da li verujes informacijama koje dobijes na Serbina Cafeu?
[7:57:06 PM] SC_ : ne razmisljam puno o tome
[7:57:15 PM] SC_ : mozda ima dobrih
[7:57:30 PM] SC_ : ali bih se uvek posavetovao sa kanadskim web site
[7:57:32 PM] Novi Covek: da li korsits serbina cafe da se informises na bilo koji nacin o
drustvu, zemlji u koju si dosao?
[7:57:41 PM] SC_ : ne
[7:57:50 PM] SC_ : koristim vladine web strane
[7:58:04 PM] Novi Covek: pa kome se obracas na serbian cafeu?
[7:58:14 PM] SC_ : a dda li ti radis marketing istrazivanje za »SC
[7:58:20 PM] Novi Covek: hahahah ne
[7:58:27 PM] Novi Covek: serbian cafe nije hteo samnom da saradjuje
[7:58:34 PM] SC_ : ma OK
[7:58:35 PM] Novi Covek: ja radim doktorsku disertaciju
[7:58:40 PM] SC_ : samo nastavi
[7:58:51 PM] Novi Covek: na temu kako imigratima sluzi interner
266
[7:58:52 PM] Novi Covek: t
[7:59:09 PM] SC_ : da to sam i mislio u prvi mah
[7:59:25 PM] Novi Covek: dakle, ako ne sreces ljude preko sc, ako ne trazis info o canadi
preko SC, za koje svrhe ga koristis?
[7:59:38 PM] SC_ : evo ovako
[7:59:41 PM] Novi Covek: hajde
[7:59:46 PM] SC_ : koristim ga za info
[7:59:55 PM] SC_ : kad gostuje nase pozoriste
[8:00:05 PM] SC_ : koji zubari se reklamiraju
[8:00:21 PM] SC_ : obidjem diskusije Toronto retko
[8:00:30 PM] SC_ : zanimaju me iz jednog razloga
[8:00:46 PM] SC_ : planiram da otvorim firmu napravio sam web site
[8:00:56 PM] SC_ : i verovatno cu reklamu staviti na SC
[8:01:19 PM] SC_ : onda zanima me kad crkva ima sluzbu za verske praznike
[8:01:40 PM] SC_ : cek da bacim pogled na Sc da se ne setim jos cega
[8:01:51 PM] Novi Covek: a sto zubari??
[8:02:09 PM] SC_ : a zato sto nikad nisam zadovoljan
[8:02:11 PM] SC_ : hahahh
[8:02:30 PM] Novi Covek: pa jel trazis zubare na sc??
[8:02:32 PM] SC_ : samo onako pomenuh njih
[8:02:42 PM] SC_ : ko radi taksu
[8:02:52 PM] SC_ : ko radi oftamoloske preglede
[8:03:08 PM] Novi Covek: dobro znaci na sc trazis info o kulturnom i verskom zivotu srpske
zajednice u torontu?
[8:03:17 PM] SC_ : recimo
[8:03:27 PM] SC_ : i o tome ko se reklamira
[8:03:28 PM] Novi Covek: aha i poneku vest o uslugama nasih ljudi tamo?
[8:03:31 PM] Novi Covek: ok
[8:03:33 PM] SC_ : tako je
[8:03:44 PM] Novi Covek: jel zatto da bi korisitio te usluge ili iz nekog drugog razloga?
[8:04:18 PM] SC_ : da mozda pronadjem odgovor na to da li moja reklama ima smisla na tom
web site
[8:04:44 PM] Novi Covek: a kako ces to da proveris?
[8:04:45 PM] SC_ : napomenuo sam ti da planiram da otvorim firmu
[8:05:08 PM] Novi Covek: da, zato me i zanima kako to porveravas citajuci druge koji se
tamo pojavljuju i reklamiraju
[8:05:14 PM] Novi Covek: proveravas
[8:05:27 PM] SC_ : pa ako mudro postupim iskoristicu njihove usluge
[8:05:34 PM] Novi Covek: ??
[8:05:40 PM] SC_ : upoznacu ih i dobiti povratnu informaciju
[8:05:53 PM] SC_ : kakav je odziv ljudi za njihov posao sa SC
[8:06:12 PM] Novi Covek: a tako, i ti ces njih intervjuisati
[8:06:15 PM] Novi Covek: ;)
[8:06:16 PM] SC_ : dakle bas ovo sto ti mene pitas
[8:06:22 PM] Novi Covek: ok, kapiram
[8:06:25 PM] SC_ : pa ne bas kao intervju
[8:06:34 PM] SC_ : vise na oonoj varijanti
[8:06:43 PM] SC_ : mi imamo biznis kako da sse pomognemo
267
[8:07:01 PM] SC_ : ja sam ovo pojednostavnio kao onaj Palma iz Jagodine
[8:07:14 PM] Novi Covek: pa tako i treba najbolje su jednostavne informacije
[8:07:28 PM] Novi Covek: dobro, mislim da sam te pitala sve sto treba
[8:07:54 PM] Novi Covek: reci mi samo da li si ikada koristio SC da bi sretao nove ljude u
stvarnom zivotu?
[8:08:04 PM] SC_ : ne
[8:08:10 PM] Novi Covek: ok, hvala
[8:08:14 PM] Novi Covek: hvala ti puno
[8:08:19 PM] SC_ : nema na cemu
[8:08:31 PM] Novi Covek: ako mu ubuduce bude nedostajao neki podatak ja cu te jos jednom
kontaktirati
[8:08:43 PM] Novi Covek: a molim te izvini jos nesto
[8:08:47 PM] SC_ : kazi
[8:08:51 PM] SC_ : poluvreme je
[8:08:54 PM] Novi Covek: jesam te pitala za godine, nacionalnost,
[8:09:06 PM] SC_ : 35
[8:09:25 PM] SC_ : Srbin - pro zapadno orijentisan
[8:09:28 PM] Novi Covek: haha
[8:09:41 PM] Novi Covek: a kazi mi obrazovanje, tj broj godina u skoli?
[8:09:50 PM] SC_ : 11 u srbiji
[8:09:55 PM] SC_ : S
[8:09:56 PM] SC_ : veliko
[8:10:01 PM] Novi Covek: kapiram
[8:10:17 PM] Novi Covek: i nezvanicno se i slazem, a bogami mogu i zvanicno ali mene
ministarstvo nista ne pita
[8:10:20 PM] Novi Covek: a u kanadi?
[8:10:36 PM] SC_ : 3 godine koledz
[8:10:49 PM] SC_ : toliko ce biti kad diplomiram na prolece
[8:10:55 PM] Novi Covek: odlicno
[8:10:57 PM] Novi Covek: svaka cast
[8:11:00 PM] Novi Covek: i hval ti puno
[8:11:08 PM] SC_ : e
[8:11:14 PM] SC_ : imam i ja nesto
[8:11:35 PM] SC_ : da ono pitanje o stvarnim ljudima ne ostane zabuna
[8:11:43 PM] SC_ : upoznao sam ljude na voznji bicikla
[8:12:01 PM] SC_ : ali je ostalo na tome vise nisam siguran ni da li bi ih prepoznao
[8:12:07 PM] SC_ : nekako mi je omaklo
[8:12:23 PM] Novi Covek: cek
[8:12:41 PM] Novi Covek: pa dobro, ti si rekao da ne koristis sc da bi nekoga upoznao
[8:12:49 PM] Novi Covek: ali kad si dosao u kanadu nekoga si ipak upoznao
[8:13:01 PM] SC_ : da na voznji bicika
[8:13:04 PM] Novi Covek: ali to je bilo sportski i nikad se od toga niej stvorilo nista bitno
[8:13:06 PM] SC_ : rekoh ti prvo
[8:13:10 PM] SC_ : ne
[8:13:17 PM] Novi Covek: ok, skapirala sam
[8:13:23 PM] SC_ : kazem ti i ne bih prepoznao te ljude
[8:13:29 PM] Novi Covek: da da
[8:13:31 PM] SC_ : nazalost
268
[8:13:32 PM] Novi Covek: razumem davno bilo
[8:13:36 PM] Novi Covek: pa da
[8:13:38 PM] Novi Covek: ali ko zna..
[8:13:45 PM] Novi Covek: hvala puno dacho
[8:13:49 PM] SC_ : Ok
[8:13:54 PM] SC_ : pozdrav
(3)
sc_user says
jutro
evo me
Jasmina says
zdravo
kako je?
sc_user says
hvala , dobro je
ti
Jasmina says
evo, cekam te
sc_user says
>
fino
hajde navali
imam posle termin
pa se moram spremati
Jasmina says
ok
molim te kazi mi kako si otkrio Serbina Cafe? kako je doslo do toga da ga koristis?
sc_user says
aufff i ti pitas svasta
znas li kad je to bilo
Jasmina says
eh, kad?
sc_user says
ne mogu se uopste sjetiti kako sam dospio tamo
to je sigurno bilo 99 ili 2000 te
dok sam jos bio u Kanadi
serbiancaffe je iz toronta
Jasmina says
pa da li se secas iz kog razloga si dospeo tamo?
sc_user says
ne znam kako sam stigao do tamo
ne
nemam pojma
vjerovatno sam trazio neku informaciju
sigurno nessto za exyu
i onda me neki pretrazivac odveo tamo
Jasmina says
269
a za koje svrhe koristis Serbina Cafe? kakvu infomraciju, vezano za sta? na kojim
disksijama?
sc_user says
evo konkretan primjer
Jasmina says
hajde
sc_user says
u subotu sam ostavio laptop upaljen jer gledam njemacki fudbal preko interneta
otisao da nesto obavim
i kad sam se vratio
virus
Jasmina says
i?
sc_user says
goglovao sam jedno pola sata da najdem nesto
pokusavao
ali na kraju su uvjek trazili da se plati
e ja fino na "moj serbian" i tamo za cas posla nadjem sve
i ode virus kao da nikad nije bio
Jasmina says
aha, znaci tamo ides da anjdes neke informacije?
bilo kog tipa??
sc_user says
da
Jasmina says
ili na primer znas za koje stvari se tamo mozes obratiti?
sc_user says
i kad mi nesto treba u frankfurtu
otem tamo na diskusije
pronadjem temu
procitam
vidim
i tako
ako me zanima sta se desava u torontu
onda odem na diskusije toronto
i vidim kako se tamo zivi ovih dana
Jasmina says
znaci infomracije o frankfurtu gde zivis, toronotu gde si ziveo,
ex-yu gde si isto ziveo
sc_user says
da
i kad nesto hocu da kupim
nabavim
Jasmina says
i nekad i strucne probleme kao kompjuter i to
sc_user says
procitam prvo kao su drugi ljudi ocjenili taj prozivod
sta predlazu
270
sta savjetuju
Jasmina says
i sta ocekujes od dovje aktivnosti na SC?
tvoje
izvini na ono dvoje
sc_user says
pojasni malo
Jasmina says
pa na primer kada se obracas SCsa pitanjima sta ocekujes da se desi?
na sta si naviko kao korisnik SC?
sc_user says
znas sta
ja tamo nisam registrovan i ne mogu postavljati pitanja
dok sam zivio u kanadi
mogli su svi da pisu
ali je posle sigurno bilo prepucavanja pa su uveli da moras biti registrovan
ja uglavnom sta trazim to i nadjem vec u diskusijama
Jasmina says
i kako korisits sc ako nisi registrovan?
a, t samo citas?
sc_user says
pa da procitam
vecinom nas muce isti problemi
Jasmina says
i sve sto te znaima vec je tu?
sc_user says
znaci nisam prvi koji je dobio taj virus
Jasmina says
zanimljivo!! na primer jel mozes da mi navedes koji su to isti problemi?
sc_user says
vec je postojalo rjesenje
Jasmina says
aha, a kad se radi o drugim zemljama i gradovima?
sc_user says
pa kazem ti da mene iskljucivo zanima torotno i frankfurt
tj. nemacka
i kanada
onda copmjuters
zastita
Jasmina says
pa dobro, ali to sto te zanima, ti drugi gradovi zemlje, nemacka kanada , koje su tu
zajednicke teme koje sve muce?
sc_user says
kako doci besplatno do nekih software i tako to
za muke sam mislio vise na temu o tehnici , comp, operativnim sistemima
a kanada njemacka
je vise
kako se zivi
271
sta se radi
gdje se izlazi
ko gdje gostuje
Jasmina says
a kapiram
i da li verujes informacijama koje nadjes na SC?
sc_user says
skoro je recimo bila ifno da brega dolazi u frankfurt
i tako to
pa ono sto ja trazim i sto najdem
su uvjek tacne i istinite ifnormacije
Jasmina says
kako znas?
uf cek telefon
sc_user says
pa zato sto ih poslije toga upotrebim , kako bih vec rekao
Jasmina says
znaci iz iskustva proveravanjem znas da su te informacije tacne?
sc_user says
da
ali to je sve nesto vezano za zivot
ja ne mogu reci da su sve informacije tamo tacno
Jasmina says
da li koristis serbina cafe da se informises o drustvu, sredini u koju si dosao?
sc_user says
pogotovo vijesti , tracevi i to
da
naravno
Jasmina says
kako?
sc_user says
pa uvjek imaju savjeti kako i sta treba uraditi
shvatas
za vize
da za dobijanje drzavljanstva
za razne olaksice sto se tice poreza
nadje se puno korisnih inforamcija
samo ko trazi
Jasmina says
i za posao???
sc_user says
e sad za posao
nisam nikad tarzio
zato sto uvjek sam u radnom odnosu
tako da me to manje zanimalo
ali vjerujem da se i ovi malo manje placeni poslovi
Jasmina says
ali recimo stan si pominjao, kako se zivi i to?
272
sc_user says
sigurno mogu pronaci
znas ja sam ipak pored frankfurta
tako da me to bas ne dotice
vise me zanima kad nesto trazim
a ovdje nema
a znam da bi trebalo biti u frankfurtu
onda idem i nadjem to sto me zanima
Jasmina says
ok
da li si ostvario neko novo poznanstvo preko SC?
sc_user says
uprovao sam posao da napisem ne , kad se sjehtih Tebe
Jasmina says
haha
sc_user says
posto nisam registrovan , tesko je
da ti nisi ostavila svoj e-mail
ja ti se ne bih mogao javiti
Jasmina says
ali kad si bio u torontu, kad su svi mogli da pisu bez registracije
sc_user says
ah jasmina
Jasmina says
molim?
sc_user says
to je bio isto moj pocetak sa internetom
pa trebalo mi je pola sata da napisem jednu recenicu
Jasmina says
haha,. ok
sc_user says
proslo bi godina i godina dok se ne bih upoznali
ja sam u kanadi boravio samo tri godine
dobio drzavljanstvo
i nazad za njemacku
Jasmina says
znaci nisi stekao neka nova poznanatsva na sc?
sc_user says
na sc ne
ali preko neta da
Jasmina says
ni tad ni sad, mene ne racunamo
sc_user says
ne
Jasmina says
kako tvoje aktivnost na SC utice na tvoj zivot? kako bi to opisao, okarakterisao?
sc_user says
e to su sad filozovska pitanja
273
na koje slabo odgovaram
rekoa sam ti da sam puno puta naisao na jako dobre informacije
koje su mi olaksale neke stvari u ovom gastarbeiterskom zivotu
Jasmina says
dobro, i?
sc_user says
tako da sam presretan da ima sc
Jasmina says
ako ima i
ali?
sc_user says
pa ne znam
Jasmina says
a dobro nema ali
Sc ti olaksava gastarbajterski imigrantski zivot sa lako dosptunim informacijama
to je isto odgovor, cak i vrlo dobar ako mene pitas
sc_user says
Jasmina says
da li bi ti hteo nesto da mi dodas a mislis da je bitno a ja te nisam pitala?
sc_user says
pa ne bas , jedino da ti kazem da sam ja upoznoao recimo puno djevojaka iz Srbije
ali da je to bilo van sc
znaci nekim drugim online putevima
Jasmina says
pa to je odlicno ali posto ja moram da fakosiram rezultate na SC samo, onda mi taj podatak
ne znaci puno
fokusiram
ali to znaci da od onog coveka koji je u kanadi samo poceo internet ti si dogurao posle do
vrlo avansiranog korisnika i da ti to puno sluzi
dobro. hvala ti puno na pomoci
sc_user says
no problem
Jasmina says
ako mi bude nesto nedostajalo u budcnosti ja cu ti se mozda jos jednom obratiti
ali svakao se nadam da ti vise necu oduzimati vremena
puno ti hvala
sc_user says
bilo mi je zadovljstvo
(4)
sc_user : Jasna, ja sam spreman, pa mozemo da pocnemo kada god tebi odgovara
sc_user : mi menjamo dan za noc, mi menjamo noc za dan
Jasmina: ok
tek sam sad ovo videla
sc_user : nema problema
video sam da nisi ispred kompa
Jasmina: super :-9
274
pa sad i zvanicno, live drago mi je da smo se upoznali
i hvala za pomoc
sc_user : takodje :)
nema problema
Jasmina: ja cu sad da ti postavim nekoliko pitanja
i ako mi nesto nije bas jasno mozda i poneko podpitanje
sc_user : ok
Jasmina: ima ih oko 12-13
moze?
sc_user : sprema
spreman
Jasmina: super
e samo jos nesto, u principu kad ovo zavrsimo ja te vise necu daviti, ali ako se kasnije
ispostavi da mi nesto zatreba mozda cu te ponovo zamoliti da mi nesto kazes. jel ti to ok?
mozda ce mi trebati par dana da nadjem vremena da sednem ispred kompa
Jasmina: kazi mi prvo kako si pronasao Serbian CAfe?
Kako je doslo do toga da ga koristis?
sc_user : znam za SC odavno
jos kada sam bio u Srbiji
kako tacno - ne secam se
mislim da sam video neke ljude da chatuju
Jasmina: a da li se secas po cemu ti je bio poznat taj web sajt?
sc_user : jos kada sam tek upisao fakultet
u racunskom centru
Jasmina: pa kad je to bilo?
sc_user : 1997
na terminalima
nisamo cak imali ni PC racunare
Jasmina: a od kada ga ti koristis?
da li se secas od kada imas nalog
sc_user : malo cesce od 2005-6
od kada su krenule moje pripreme za selidbu
Jasmina: sta se onda desilo? zasto je to vezano za pripreme
sc_user : pokusao sam da dodjem do nekih informacija iz prve ruke
oko toga gde da trazim stan
posao
koliko sta kosta i slicno
Jasmina: znaci koja je svrha koriscenja bila?
sc_user : informisanje
istrazivanje
ne znam kako to da definisem
Jasmina: o stanu, poslu i cenama za mesto gde si zeleo da se preselis??
sc_user : i generalnije, uopsteno o zivotu u New Yorku
Jasmina: samo za NY?
sc_user : kolike su zarade, koliko se sa tim moze i slicno
da
Jasmina: a odakle ti ideja da ces tu naci te informacije?
275
sc_user : pa kada sam poceo da istrazujem zivot u americi, poceo sam od foruma krstarice
koji sam koristio i ranije
onda sam nekoliko puta, preko googla dosao do nekih foruma na sajtu b92 i serbian cafe-u
pa sam posle nekog vremena poceo da ih sve redovno posecujem
u prvo vreme samo sam citao sta drugi ljudi pisu
Jasmina: a kome se obracas na serbian cafeu?
sc_user : a kasnije sam poceo i da postavljam pitanja
kada nadjem neku relevantnu temu
napisem svoje pitanje, dodam komentar
ako me zanima nesto sto nisam vide, zapocnem novi topic
mada, moram da priznam da sa Serbian Cafe-om nisam imao previse uspeha
Jasmina: zasto?
sc_user : i da je moj prvi utisak bio dokle slican tvojem
Jasmina: hahaha
sc_user : mozda ne bas toliko los
:)
Jasmina: haha
sc_user : ali bilo je zluradih ljudi koji ne samo da nisu hteli da pomognu, nego su bili vrlo
raspolozeni da odmognu
Jasmina: pa dobro ali to znaci da si ti nesto sto te zanima postavio na diskusiju citavom tom
communitiju
?
sc_user : da
Jasmina: da li verujes infomracijama koje dobijes na serbina cafeu?
sc_user : ponekada bi ostavio svoju email adresu i zatrazio od ljudi da me kontaktiraju
mailom
Jasmina: I?
sc_user : pa mislim da mi je jednom neko odgovorio sa savetom
ali su me kontaktirali vise puta sa pitanjima
ljudi koji bi pronasli moje stare postove
i kada bi naisli na slicne probleme i imali ista pitanja kao ja pre par godina
pisali bi mi i potrazili pomoc
Jasmina: pa jel ti koriscenje bilo korisno?
sc_user : pa mogu da kazem da sam dosao i do nekih korisnih informacija na SCu
upoznao sam 2-3 ljudi preko tih diskusija
ex-yu ljudi koji zive u NYu
i saznao za par novih restorana/prodavnica sa nasom hranom
Jasmina: a da li verovao infomracijama koje si dobio na SC?
sc_user : uglavnom, informacije koje su mi bile korisne su bile tipa novi restoran, zove se
tako i tako, ponekada bi cak postavili i link
pa bih sam potrazio i proverio
Jasmina: a informacije vezane za stan, posao i to? jesu to bile informacije tebi od znacaja?
sc_user : sto se toga tice, nisam dobio previse korisnih odgovora
ako malo prelistas SC
videces i sama kakvo zestoku diskusiju pokrene pitanje kraja grada u kojem neko zivi
Jasmina: da, to sam videla
sc_user : ljudi ovde kraj grada vezuju sa statusom i onda mozes da cujes svasta
tako da su te informacije manje-vise beskorisne
276
ima ljudi koji ce ti napisati nesto korisno
Jasmina: ima?
secas se nekog korisnog saveta
sc_user : ali ako ne zivis ovde, stvarno ne mozes da razlikujes korisne informacije od
beskorisnog lupetanja
Jasmina: e to je bitno, znaci ipak sve moras da proveris.
sc_user : najkorisniji savet je bio u vidu linka
za craigslist
za koji pre toga nisam cuo
Jasmina: e pa dobro, to zvuci dobro i lako za proveru
nego kazi mi, ti novi ljudi koje si upoznao na SC
jesu to ljudi van kruga tvojih prijatelja?
sc_user : da
Jasmina: i kako si ih upoznao?
sc_user : ne secam se vise na koju je temu bila diskusija
niti ko je pokrenuo
da li ja ili neko drugi
uglavnom, neko od nas je predlozio okupljnje
Jasmina: gde?
sc_user : uh...
Jasmina: mislim real life gathering, ili online?
sc_user : mislim da je bilo negde na Lower East Side
neki kafic, restoran
Jasmina: a, znaci real life event?
sc_user : tako nesto
da
Jasmina: i? jeste se nasli?
sc_user : jesmo, nas cetvoro
jedna devojka
Jasmina: hm, zanimljivo
sc_user : i trojica muskaraca
Jasmina: da li je neki od tih kontakta koji si ostvario na sc tebi vazan kontakt
sc_user : pa sa svima sam i dalje u nekakvom kontaktu
mozda nismo previse bliski
ali ponekada komuniciramo
sa tom devojkom koju sam upozna sam cak bio i u kratkoj vezi
:)
Jasmina: hahaha
bravo!
znaci to je ipak bio vazan kontakt?
sc_user : paaa.
onako
:)
Jasmina: ;-)
sc_user : bio je u to vreme
to je bila moja prva godina u NYu
Jasmina: i danas kada ste u kontaktu kakva je vrsta odnosa?
sc_user : prijateljska
277
ne preterano bliska, ali ok
Jasmina: i da li i dalje razmenjujete neke informacije o NY?
sc_user : u medjuvremenu, nasi krugovi prijatelja su se toliko isprepletali
da se manje vise svi poznajemo sa svima
Jasmina: small world
sc_user : da
razmena informacija o gradu sada uglavnom ide preko Facebook-a
neko postavi link za event
pozove ostale
i tome slicno
Jasmina: znaci kontakti nekad napravljeni na sc se odrzavaju i ljudi se vidjaju putem drugih
medija FC?
sc_user : da
Jasmina: a kako bi okarakterisao svoju aktivnost na sc? kako to utice na tvoj realni zivot u
NY?
sc_user : na moj zivot SC vise nema nikakav uticaj
posecujem sajt skoro svakog dana cisto da izlistam vesti
ali diskuije posetim jednom nedeljno
Jasmina: aha, tu se informises
sc_user : kao sto rekoh u poslednje vreme diskusije su mesto za izbegavanje
Jasmina: da, to si mi lepo objasnio
sc_user : kada sam tek dosao u NY
posecivao sam sve moguce diskusije vise puta dnevno
Jasmina: sto tako cesto?
sc_user : prvo, zato sto nisam poznavao dosta ljudi
a drugo, zato sto sam imao zelju da pomognem ljudima koji su u slicnoj situaciji kao ja
i koji nemaju drugih nacina da dodju do informacija
Jasmina: pa to je bas lepo i korisno.
sc_user : inace, ja sam dobio green card na lutriji
Jasmina: a to dok nisi znao dosta ljudi, jel to bila motivacija da koristis SC u smislu da ces
nekoga upoznati novog?
sc_user : pa iskreno nisam mislio da ce se to dogoditi
vise je bilo u smislu toga da saznam sta se radi, gde se ljudi krecu i slicno
Jasmina: ali si ipak tamo boravio nekoliko piuta dnevno??
aha
da saznas gde bi mogao da ih sretnes?
sc_user : recimo
Jasmina: sta dobijes od SC, jel mozes to nekako da mi opises.
kakvu vrstu osecaja, benefita?
sc_user : uh
to je teko pitanje
:)
Jasmina: izvini :-)
sc_user : jel' sada govorimo o diskusijama ili o sajtu, generalno?
Jasmina: pa o diskusijama vise
a moze i o celom sjatu
sc_user : pa kao sto sam rekao, u poslednje vreme od diskusija ne dobijam nista
o gradu znam sve sto treba da znam
278
ponekada odgovorim nekome na pitanje
uputim ga na neki drugi sajt
uglavnom ljudi pitaju gde mogu da nadju stan/sobu i slicno
Jasmina: sto ce reci trenutno ti pomazes onima koji su bili u tvojoj situaciji?
sc_user : ponekada pitaju za avio karte
tako nekako
najvise zbog neprijatnih iskustava koje sam ja imao dok sam pokusava da dodjem do info
a stvarno noje tesko
:)
Jasmina: da li to tebi deluje onda ipak kao korisna razmena, korisni susret sa ljudima u
nevolji?
sc_user : pa ja verujem da jeste korisno
Jasmina: e sada off the record, i ja
sc_user : ako ne znam odgovor na pitanje, trudim se da ne filozofiram
Jasmina: gorane
hvala ti puno
Jasmina: nadam se da ce mi i drugi pomoci ovoliko kao i ti
sc_user : drago mi je da sam mogao da pomognem
Jasmina: bas si super tip i bas mi je drago da ti ej dobro tamo
sc_user : :)
srecno sa radom
Jasmina: srecno i tebi sve tamo
sc_user : hvala
Jasmina: cestitam ti na svemu stao si uspeao da uradis, znam da to u ny nije lako
sc_user : ako nekada svratis do NY-a
javi se
Jasmina: hvala ti puno na pozivu
ja imam puno prijatelja u ny oni su svi
dobili green card na lutriji kao ti
i nadam se da cu doci opet i javicu se da se upoznamo, ja placam pice :-)
sc_user : :)
Jasmina: da se zahvalim
sc_user : ok
sve najbolje Jasna
Jasmina: hvala jos jednom, i cujemo se ako mi nesto jos bude nedostajalo i nadam se da cu
ti nekad uskoro i j
javiti da je ceo rad uspesno zavrsen
cao
sc_user : cao
(5)
[9:27:57 AM] SC_User: dobro jutro. hocemo li sada da popricamo?
[9:28:59 AM] Novi Covek: zdravo
[9:29:05 AM] Novi Covek: koliko imas vremena
[9:29:18 AM] SC_User: imam pola sata, sat
[9:29:37 AM] Novi Covek: ok
[9:29:43 AM] Novi Covek: daj mi samo 5 minuta
[9:29:49 AM] SC_User: vazi
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[9:29:49 AM] Novi Covek: da avrsim kafu
[9:34:53 AM] Novi Covek: evo me
[9:34:55 AM] Novi Covek: izvini
[9:34:57 AM] Novi Covek: kako je?
[9:35:05 AM] SC_User: dobro je :)
[9:35:42 AM] Novi Covek: radis
[9:36:04 AM] SC_User: da, dosao sam na posao i pijem kafu pa mozemo da pocnemo ako
zelis
[9:36:14 AM] Novi Covek: naravno necu da te gnjavim
[9:36:23 AM] SC_User: takoreci prirpemam se da pocnem da radim
[9:36:26 AM] SC_User: ;)
[9:36:35 AM] Novi Covek: molim te reci mi kako si otkrio, nasao serbian cafe? kako je doslo
do toga da ga koristis?
[9:37:35 AM] SC_User: Koliko se secam prvi put sam otisao na sc negde kada je napustanje
Beograda postalo izvesno i kada sam krenuo da trazim informacije o zemlji u koju idem
[9:37:41 AM] SC_User: to bi bilo negde 2000
[9:37:52 AM] Novi Covek: koji motiv si imao?
[9:38:55 AM] SC_User: hteo sam da pitam ljude koji tamo zive o nekim svakodnevnim
stvarima kao i da pokusam da pronadjem stan koji u tom trenutku nisam imao
[9:39:16 AM] Novi Covek: znaci uglavnom da se infromises?
[9:39:32 AM] SC_User: stan nisam nasao ali sam dobio par korisnih informacija o zivotu u
svedskoj
[9:39:42 AM] SC_User: da , to je bio inicijalni motiv
[9:39:57 AM] Novi Covek: koje diskusije si posecivao?
[9:40:01 AM] SC_User: skandinavija
[9:40:08 AM] Novi Covek: kojim diskusijama dorpinosis?
[9:40:15 AM] SC_User: cekaj malo
[9:40:43 AM] SC_User: pitas me koje diskusije sam posecivao od 2010 do danas ili onda
kada sam prvi put otisao na sc
[9:40:52 AM] SC_User: pardon od 2000 do dans
[9:41:05 AM] Novi Covek: pa mene zanima kako to izgleda generalno
[9:41:23 AM] Novi Covek: ali vidim da ljudi imaju jedan nacin pristupa kad su se selili a adrugi
sad kada su setblirani imigranti
[9:41:33 AM] SC_User: ok, samo ti pitanje nije bilo precizno obzirom da smo pricali o prvom
odlasku
[9:41:37 AM] Novi Covek: da li kod tebe ima razlike u koriscenju SC tada i sada?
[9:41:45 AM] SC_User: da ima
[9:41:49 AM] Novi Covek: izvini na nepreciznosti
[9:41:56 AM] SC_User: nema problema
[9:42:00 AM] Novi Covek: kazi mi u cemu se razlikuje koriscenje sc tada i sada?
[9:42:14 AM] SC_User: kao sto rekoh prvi put sam otisao u potrazi za nekim odgovorima
[9:42:29 AM] SC_User: a kasnije je to postalo deo socijalnog zivota
[9:42:31 AM] Novi Covek: a danas? gde boravis na diskusijama? sa kojim motivom?
[9:43:06 AM] SC_User: danas ucestvujem samo na diskusiji skandinavija i jako retko na
diskusiji operativni sistemi
[9:43:32 AM] SC_User: motiv je da se informisem neformalno o tome sta se desava po
svedskoj
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[9:43:38 AM] Novi Covek: sta ocekujes od aktivnosti na SC?
[9:43:51 AM] Novi Covek: kome se obracas na SC?
[9:44:02 AM] SC_User: kao i da se malo politicki pocerupam sa prijatlejima koje poznajem
licno i koji dolaze na sc
[9:44:10 AM] Novi Covek: ;)
[9:44:15 AM] Novi Covek: a imas ljudi koje lcno znas?
[9:44:17 AM] Novi Covek: licno
[9:44:41 AM] SC_User: naravno, neke sam upravo upoznao preko te diskusije
[9:44:53 AM] Novi Covek: a pa kako je tislo?
[9:45:02 AM] Novi Covek: jesi ocekivao da nekoga upoznas preko SC?
[9:45:24 AM] SC_User: izivni na koje aktivnosti mislis u prethodnom pitanju?
[9:46:10 AM] Novi Covek: pa mislim na aktivnosti u diskusijama. ali mozemo sad da pricamo
ovo poslednje oa cemo se vratiti. zanimljivo mi ovo da imas neke prijatelje na sc
[9:47:01 AM] SC_User: pa tako se desilo. skandinavija je mala, bilo je nekoliko ljudi koji su
pokrenuli tu diskusiju malo pre toga koji su ziveli u stokholmu
[9:47:08 AM] SC_User: svedska je mala
[9:47:30 AM] SC_User: ti isti ljudi su napravili onaj myusic club u stokholmu
[9:47:39 AM] SC_User: u kome se pustala i svirala exyu muzika
[9:47:47 AM] Novi Covek: nisam cula za to
[9:47:56 AM] Novi Covek: dobro ime
[9:47:56 AM] SC_User: i tako smo se tamo , u tom klubu, vise manje svi i upoznali
[9:48:10 AM] Novi Covek: znaci ti si ucestvovao na istoj diskusiji kao i oni
[9:48:15 AM] Novi Covek: i onda saznao za club?
[9:48:15 AM] SC_User: da. samo sto sada to vise ne radi
[9:48:20 AM] SC_User: da
[9:48:21 AM] Novi Covek: steta.
[9:48:35 AM] Novi Covek: i kad si saznao za klub neko je predlozio da se sretnete?
[9:48:38 AM] SC_User: i ja mislim da je steta
[9:48:39 AM] Novi Covek: ili kako?
[9:48:48 AM] SC_User: da , tako je bilo
[9:49:01 AM] SC_User: na sc je objavljivano kada ce biti taj koncert
[9:49:13 AM] SC_User: i onda bi se dogovorili
[9:49:15 AM] Novi Covek: a kapiram.
[9:49:17 AM] SC_User: i tamo nasli
[9:49:23 AM] SC_User: ono , crvena ruza u reveru
[9:49:32 AM] Novi Covek: hahahahah!
[9:49:38 AM] SC_User: mislim da webstrana jos uvek postoji
[9:49:58 AM] Novi Covek: a kazi mi da li je neki od kontakata koje si ostvario na SC bio tabi
vazan kontakt u bilo kom smislu?
[9:50:18 AM] Novi Covek: tabi=tebi
[9:50:42 AM] SC_User: naravno. tamo sam upoznao neke fine ljude sa kojima se i dan danas
druzim
[9:50:53 AM] SC_User: i koji su mi postali prijatelji
[9:51:01 AM] Novi Covek: pa to je fantasticno.
[9:51:16 AM] SC_User: ali to je samo vezano za diskusiju skandinavija
[9:51:19 AM] SC_User: i za svedsku
[9:51:24 AM] Novi Covek: a jesu to ljudi koji su znali neke tvoje prijatelje ili su skroz van kriga
tvojih prijatelja?
281
[9:51:39 AM] Novi Covek: kruga
[9:52:20 AM] SC_User: govorim o ljudima koje nikada pre nisam video i koje sam u poznao u
tom klubu a koji us redomm bili i jos uvek su na sc
[9:53:16 AM] SC_User: danas ne toliko cesto kao ranije. ipak je skoro deset godina proteklo
[9:54:02 AM] Novi Covek: ali tada kad si ih upoznao u klubu, to su bili ljudi ne vezani za tvoj
krug prijatelja?
[9:54:25 AM] SC_User: tacno tako.
[9:54:39 AM] SC_User: doduse kada sam dosao u swe imao sam samo troje poznanika
[9:54:52 AM] SC_User: koji tada nikoga od tih ljudi iz kluba nisu znali
[9:55:10 AM] Novi Covek: znaci svi su se nasli tamo zahvaljuci SC
[9:55:16 AM] Novi Covek: i posle upoznali
[9:55:20 AM] Novi Covek: i druzili u realnom zivotu
[9:55:23 AM] SC_User: moglo bi se reci
[9:55:37 AM] SC_User: da je diskusija vodila tome da se ljudi sretnu
[9:55:44 AM] Novi Covek: da li koristis sc da bi sretao nove ljude?
[9:55:51 AM] Novi Covek: jao pisi neko mi na vratima
[9:55:54 AM] SC_User: hm...
[9:57:27 AM] SC_User: ne znam kako da ti odgovorim na ovo pitanje jer ga ne razumem
najbolje
[9:57:40 AM] SC_User: mislim koristim?
[9:57:55 AM] SC_User: jel to koristim mislis kao intenet oglasi za usamljena srca?
[9:58:14 AM] SC_User: reci cu ovako
[9:58:37 AM] SC_User: nikada tamo nisam isao sa namerom da cu tamo sada da nadjem
nekog druga
[10:00:06 AM] Novi Covek: mislila sam kao korisnik, da li odes na sc i pomislis.. recimo selim
se Keln, idem da vidim koga ima u diskusiji nemacka da se nesto raspitam a mozda cu
nekog i upoznati
[10:00:19 AM] SC_User: ah to
[10:00:26 AM] Novi Covek: da, izvini ako sam malo nejasna
[10:00:31 AM] Novi Covek: (blush)
[10:01:23 AM] SC_User: da, otisao sam pred selidbu na diskusiju dizeldorf i shvatio da tam
nema nikoga "normalnog" sa kim moze da se prica
[10:01:30 AM] Novi Covek: haha
[10:01:33 AM] SC_User: bar po mom standardu
[10:01:46 AM] Novi Covek: a kakve informacije inca mogu da se nadju na sc?
[10:01:54 AM] Novi Covek: koja vrsta informacija ?
[10:02:25 AM] SC_User: svasta tamo ima. ja sam bio i moderator jedno vreme
[10:02:45 AM] SC_User: ako pitas sta je mene zanimalo
[10:02:46 AM] Novi Covek: a. ali jel mozes nesto da mi izdvojis, sta je najtipicnije?
[10:03:00 AM] Novi Covek: pa da, zbog cega ljudi idu tamo, koje informacije traze?
[10:03:02 AM] SC_User: onda je to svedska i kompjuteri
[10:03:03 AM] Novi Covek: o cemu?
[10:03:20 AM] Novi Covek: ali kad kazes svedska, sta te o toj novoj zemlji zanimalo?
[10:03:30 AM] SC_User: na to pitanje je tesko odgovoriti
[10:03:51 AM] SC_User: sc je bio jedan od prvih foruma gde su ljudi mogli da se nadju
[10:03:54 AM] SC_User: emigranti pre svega
[10:04:05 AM] Novi Covek: da, dosta je "star"
[10:04:39 AM] SC_User: onda je vremenom doslo do raznih podela unutar sc-a
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[10:04:49 AM] SC_User: internet je postao mnogo dostupniji
[10:05:16 AM] SC_User: i ljudi su pocveli da pronalaze druga mesta za skupljanje
[10:05:30 AM] SC_User: prema svojim sklonostima i ubedjenjima
[10:05:41 AM] Novi Covek: aha, to je zanimljivo
[10:05:46 AM] SC_User: ali pre desetak godina sc je bio polazisna tacka
[10:06:18 AM] Novi Covek: i kad pitas za nesto o skadinaviji , recimo ti, to je posao, stan,
lokalna kultura??
[10:06:24 AM] SC_User: sc je politicki otisao previse udesno
[10:06:32 AM] Novi Covek: sta su teme na koje mozes dobiti odgovor na sc?
[10:06:40 AM] Novi Covek: da, videla sam da su dosta radikalni
[10:06:49 AM] Novi Covek: malo je neprijatna "klima"
[10:06:51 AM] SC_User: mislim da mozes dobiti odgovor na svako postavljeno pitanje
[10:07:22 AM] SC_User: cvele je obozavatelj lika i dela vojislava seselja
[10:07:32 AM] SC_User: cvele je btw vlasnik, bio
[10:07:37 AM] Novi Covek: hahah, ja ne znam ko je to i bilje da ne znam
[10:07:40 AM] Novi Covek: ah!
[10:07:42 AM] SC_User: inace sc posluje kao firma
[10:07:46 AM] Novi Covek: zato nisi hteli da saradjuju samnom
[10:07:51 AM] Novi Covek: to sam shvatila
[10:08:03 AM] SC_User: zaradjuju na reklamama
[10:08:08 AM] Novi Covek: ah kako si ti dobro upoznat!
[10:08:17 AM] Novi Covek: znam sve, ja analiziram taj zivot tamo mesecima.
[10:08:50 AM] SC_User: mene su i izbacili odande kao moderatora zbog mojih liberalnih
politickih stavova
[10:09:00 AM] Novi Covek: Eh, kazem losa klima. a kazi mi da li verujes informacijama koje
dobijes na sc?
[10:09:06 AM] SC_User: i zbog suprotstavljanja nacionalizmu ....
[10:09:23 AM] SC_User: pa onako umereno
[10:09:35 AM] SC_User: ne verujem nikome slepo
[10:09:59 AM] Novi Covek: kako stices poverenje?
[10:10:08 AM] Novi Covek: kako znas sta valja sta ne?
[10:10:14 AM] SC_User: ali nikada nisam trazio savet za stomacni zatvor pa da mi neko
kaze popi zivu
[10:10:22 AM] Novi Covek: hahahha
[10:10:25 AM] Novi Covek: nego?
[10:10:48 AM] SC_User: jel mozemo da nastavimo za 10 min
[10:10:56 AM] Novi Covek: moze sve mada smo na kraju
[10:11:01 AM] Novi Covek: samo idi ja sam tu
[10:11:04 AM] SC_User: brb
[10:22:43 AM] SC_User: izvini , bili majstori da peru prozore u kancelariji
[10:23:11 AM] Novi Covek: jel mogu samo jos nesto da te pitam
[10:23:20 AM] SC_User: mislim da se poverenje na internetu stice polako
[10:23:28 AM] Novi Covek: izvini malo sam se zapricala sa tobom ali zanimljiv sagovornik
[10:23:28 AM] SC_User: i da treba uvek biti oprezan
[10:23:29 AM] Novi Covek: da?
[10:23:33 AM] SC_User: pitaj.
[10:23:34 AM] Novi Covek: kako ?
283
[10:23:44 AM] SC_User: pa kroz razgovor
[10:23:47 AM] Novi Covek: kako si oprezan? kako proveravas ko j eok ko ne
[10:24:04 AM] SC_User: oprazan u iiznosenju privatnih odataka
[10:24:10 AM] SC_User: podataka
[10:24:28 AM] SC_User: mator sam ja vec
[10:24:35 AM] Novi Covek: hahaha
[10:24:38 AM] Novi Covek: ako cemo tako i ja
[10:24:41 AM] Novi Covek: ja sam kao ti
[10:24:45 AM] Novi Covek: 42
[10:24:49 AM] SC_User: da tu smo
[10:25:08 AM] SC_User: i onda vec znas kada ti neko odgovara
[10:25:08 AM] Novi Covek: dobro znaci ti sve uzimas sa rezervom i onda procenjujes ko je ok
ko ne
[10:25:10 AM] SC_User: kada ne
[10:25:17 AM] Novi Covek: hvala ti puno
(7)
[7:02:08 PM] Novi Covek: ok,
[7:02:10 PM] Novi Covek: idemo
[7:02:16 PM] SC_User: ajde
[7:02:33 PM] Novi Covek: kazi mi prvo kako si otkrila Serbian Cafe? kako je doslo do toga da
pocnes da ga koristis?
[7:02:42 PM] SC_User: uf
[7:02:46 PM] SC_User: jako davno
[7:02:52 PM] SC_User: mozda kad je tek poceo da postoji
[7:02:54 PM] Novi Covek: jel mozes da se setis kada
[7:03:07 PM] SC_User: pre jedno 10-12 godina
[7:03:16 PM] Novi Covek: oko 98
[7:03:27 PM] SC_User: pre bi rekla 99-2000
[7:03:30 PM] SC_User: tu negde
[7:03:36 PM] SC_User: pre 99
[7:03:53 PM] Novi Covek: i kako si ga otkrila?
[7:04:02 PM] SC_User: pa bas se ne secam
[7:04:20 PM] SC_User: tada sam tek pocela da koristim internet
[7:04:28 PM] Novi Covek: pa jesi li slucajno nasla ili ti je neko to preporucio?
[7:04:29 PM] SC_User: moralo bi imati neke veze sa mirc chatom
[7:04:49 PM] SC_User: jer sam u stvari tako i pocela da koristim internet
[7:04:49 PM] Novi Covek: da?
[7:05:00 PM] SC_User: da bi pricala sa mojim najboljim drugom tada
[7:05:17 PM] SC_User: pa mislim da je taj mirc server bio povezan sa SC
[7:05:20 PM] SC_User: chatom
[7:05:24 PM] SC_User: pa tako nesto
[7:05:37 PM] SC_User: to mi je logicno ali ne mogu da budem sigurna da je 100 tacno
[7:05:43 PM] Novi Covek: zasto koristis SC?
[7:05:50 PM] Novi Covek: koji su ti motivi?
[7:05:56 PM] SC_User: ipak alcheimer radi svoje
[7:06:11 PM] SC_User: pazi odavno ne koristim SC cesto
[7:06:23 PM] SC_User: nekada sam isla na chat kao sto rekoh
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[7:06:33 PM] SC_User: onda sam dugo godina samo citala vesti
[7:06:38 PM] SC_User: onako na brzinu
[7:06:44 PM] SC_User: ponekad prelistam diskusije
[7:07:00 PM] Novi Covek: a kad si isla na chat? koji je to bio trenutak u tvom zivotu? sta si
radila?
[7:07:03 PM] SC_User: u poslednjim godinama redje, citam vesti na drugom mestu
[7:07:42 PM] SC_User: prvih godina posto sma dosla ovde
[7:07:48 PM] SC_User: moj najbolji drug me je naucio
[7:07:57 PM] SC_User: :) da bi bili u kontaktu
[7:08:09 PM] SC_User: (hahah i posle 15 godina idem kod nejga u OSlo :))
[7:08:17 PM] Novi Covek: hahah, neverovatno!
[7:08:29 PM] SC_User: internet nas odrzao njemu hvala
[7:08:41 PM] SC_User: haha sali m se malo...nadam se da ne smeta
[7:08:50 PM] Novi Covek: odravali ste kontakt svih tih 15 goidna putm neta?
[7:08:53 PM] SC_User: tad sam dosla, pocela da studiram
[7:08:57 PM] Novi Covek: ne ne, sve je cool
[7:08:57 PM] SC_User: i to je bilo to
[7:09:13 PM] SC_User: on imao mirc dosao pokazao i meni otvorio mi mail i tako je sve
pocelo
[7:09:14 PM] Novi Covek: a koje diskusije si citala tada? a koje danasP
[7:09:22 PM] SC_User: bila sam godinama mirc addicted
[7:09:43 PM] SC_User: diskusije..slabo se secam tad je bila drugacija tematika
[7:09:56 PM] SC_User: mislim da je bila neka grupa 25+
[7:10:08 PM] Novi Covek: a koja ti je bila ideja?
[7:10:17 PM] SC_User: danas eto kao sto sam ti rekla pocela sam da svracam na
skandinavija
[7:10:36 PM] SC_User: iz prakticnih razloga mozda nesto korisno procitam
[7:10:48 PM] SC_User: ideja nije bila nego kad mi je dosadno i kad sma bila usamljena
[7:11:00 PM] SC_User: citala sam diskusije ali nisam nikad komentarisala
[7:11:11 PM] SC_User: ni danas ne komentarise
[7:12:01 PM] Novi Covek: nikad ne dajes komentare?
[7:12:06 PM] SC_User: ne
[7:12:07 PM] Novi Covek: samo citas sta su napisali ?
[7:12:12 PM] SC_User: da
[7:12:48 PM] Novi Covek: da li si nesto ocekivala od tovje aktivnosti na SC?
[7:13:15 PM] SC_User: ne - samo ubijala vreme
[7:13:46 PM] SC_User: dokoni student
[7:13:54 PM] Novi Covek: kakve infomracije mozes naci na serbian cafeu?
[7:14:04 PM] Novi Covek: evo sada kad ti treba za selidbu u skandinaviju?
[7:14:15 PM] SC_User: nikakve koristi
[7:14:32 PM] Novi Covek: stvarno?
[7:14:39 PM] SC_User: mislim da je site odavno prevazidjen
[7:15:07 PM] SC_User: nije moderan i nema dovoljno informacija za coveka 21 veka
[7:15:14 PM] Novi Covek: ali si ti ipak odlazila tamo i sad ides?
[7:15:16 PM] SC_User: jedina mu je prednost sto je jako jednostavan
[7:15:18 PM] Novi Covek: mora da ima neki razlog?
[7:15:23 PM] SC_User: da nekada mi je bio ok
285
[7:15:37 PM] Novi Covek: jesi tada imala neke informacije koje su ti koristile?
[7:15:43 PM] SC_User: sad kazme ti jako retko i mislila sma mozda nadjem nesto na
diskusijama o norveskoj
[7:15:51 PM] SC_User: uglavnom vesti
[7:15:51 PM] Novi Covek: i jesi nasla?
[7:16:18 PM] Novi Covek: mislim neke informacije o norveskoj?
[7:16:26 PM] SC_User: nikakve! :)
[7:16:39 PM] SC_User: nisam naravno ni pitala
[7:16:46 PM] SC_User: nego sam gledala da li je neko drugi nesto pisao
[7:16:58 PM] Novi Covek: a da li si koristila ili sad koristis SC da bi se informisala o drustvu u
koje se selis?
[7:17:20 PM] Novi Covek: ili u kome zivis?
[7:17:47 PM] SC_User: kad kazes drustvo mislis? (society)
[7:17:55 PM] Novi Covek: da :)
[7:18:09 PM] SC_User: osim ovog sto sam ti rekla ne posebno
[7:18:19 PM] SC_User: mozda sam par puta usla na diskusije grcka
[7:18:26 PM] Novi Covek: a da li si ostvarila neko poznanastvo zahvaljujuci SC?
[7:18:40 PM] SC_User: ali je to toliko jadno a i znam skoro sve po rukopisu ...
[7:19:04 PM] SC_User: ne zahvaljujuci SC ali na Mircu sam bas bas imala poznanstva
[7:19:12 PM] SC_User: neka su se i realizovala u real life
[7:19:21 PM] Novi Covek: ali preko SC ne
[7:19:23 PM] Novi Covek: ?
[7:19:41 PM] SC_User: ima veze sa SC ako povezes njihov chat i mirc server su bili jedno te
isto
[7:19:54 PM] SC_User: isla sam na taj njihov server
[7:20:09 PM] SC_User: secam se ko sad irc.serbiancafe.ws
[7:20:11 PM] Novi Covek: aha, to znaci da si preko njihovog servera nekada dosla do nekih
poznanstava
[7:20:19 PM] Novi Covek: a! to je zanimljivo
[7:20:21 PM] SC_User: da da upravo to
[7:20:30 PM] Novi Covek: jesu to bili ljudi van kruga tvojih prijatelja?
[7:20:31 PM] SC_User: samo sam na njihov server isla
[7:20:39 PM] SC_User: naravno totalno
[7:20:48 PM] SC_User: jedini je bio moj drug koga sam znala
[7:21:02 PM] SC_User: posle sam stvorila sebi sama neke drugare za chat
[7:21:03 PM] Novi Covek: a da li neki od tih kontakata, tih novih koje si uopznala neki bio jako
vazan, bitan?
[7:21:23 PM] SC_User: da od jednog je bila nastala i veza
[7:21:31 PM] SC_User: cak vise godina
[7:21:34 PM] Novi Covek: to je dosta ozbiljan kontakt
[7:21:39 PM] SC_User: hahah
[7:21:56 PM] Novi Covek: Kako tvoja online aktivnost, aktivnost na Serbian Cafeu, utice na
tvoj stvarni zivot?
[7:21:57 PM] SC_User: tad je bio ozbiljan
[7:22:06 PM] SC_User: danas?
[7:22:15 PM] Novi Covek: pa danas skoro ne korisits ali tada?
[7:22:24 PM] SC_User: da to sam i mislila
286
[7:22:37 PM] SC_User: ako pricamo SC=Chat na mirc-u
[7:22:45 PM] Novi Covek: da?
[7:22:56 PM] SC_User: onda je to u periodu izmedju 1999-2003 recimo bilo bas podosta
[7:23:09 PM] Novi Covek: i kako je to uticalo na tvoj realni zivot?
[7:23:17 PM] SC_User: dosta vremena pred kompjuterom
[7:23:32 PM] SC_User: neprospavane noci
[7:23:40 PM] Novi Covek: I?
[7:23:43 PM] SC_User: i to ali nista vise od toga
[7:23:50 PM] Novi Covek: samo gubitak vremena?
[7:23:52 PM] SC_User: drustvo sam i ovde stvorila
[7:24:05 PM] SC_User: to je bio real life a ono je bilo dobra zezancija
[7:24:11 PM] SC_User: i ispraznjivanje neko
[7:24:23 PM] SC_User: mozda je koristilo kao psiholoski ventil
[7:24:28 PM] SC_User: mozd aje bas u tome bila caka
[7:24:51 PM] SC_User: dodjes nadjes neku 'zrtvu' nit te zna nit ga znas ili se ismejes ili se
izjadas i mirno spavas...
[7:25:13 PM] Novi Covek: da li mozes da si tada koristila mirc=sc da bi upoznavala nove
ljude?
[7:25:29 PM] Novi Covek: da li mozes da kazes
[7:25:37 PM] Novi Covek: kazes nedostaje
[7:25:45 PM] SC_User: pa recimo, uprosteno, ali ne da bi ih upoznala u stvarnom zivotu
[7:25:50 PM] Novi Covek: nego?
[7:26:14 PM] SC_User: nego da ubijem vreme i ispricam se kad u stvarnom zivotu nema
nikog
[7:26:25 PM] SC_User: spavaju iili su zauzeti ili vec nesto
[7:26:25 PM] Novi Covek: znaci komunicaji sa neki ali online
[7:26:38 PM] SC_User: da skoro iskljucivo
[7:26:44 PM] Novi Covek: a kako je onda doslo do toga da neko koga si upoznala online
postane bitan u tvom realnom zivotu?
[7:27:03 PM] SC_User: pa nemam pojma, imala sma 20 godina pa sam valjda bila neozbiljna
[7:27:10 PM] Novi Covek: ahah
[7:27:15 PM] SC_User: chat po chat i tako i posle par meseci ajde da se upoznamo
[7:27:19 PM] Novi Covek: ma dobro meni je to ok.
[7:27:30 PM] SC_User: ma i meni za te godine zvuci sasvim ok
[7:27:31 PM] Novi Covek: neko predlozi da se upoznate i onda?
[7:27:33 PM] SC_User: :P
[7:27:41 PM] SC_User: da i ja isla to leto u bgd
[7:27:45 PM] SC_User: i upoznali se
[7:28:09 PM] SC_User: i izbilakao ljubav neka - izvini ali sad mi deluje smesno ne mogu tome
prici sa mnogo ozbiljnosti
[7:28:14 PM] Novi Covek: aha,kapiram to je bila veza iz srbije, ti si zivela u grckoj i imala
nekoga tamo
[7:28:17 PM] SC_User: posle ne znam koliko vremena
[7:28:23 PM] Novi Covek: ok kapiram.
[7:28:28 PM] SC_User: godinu ili vise
[7:28:30 PM] Novi Covek: nema frke necmo vise o tome
[7:28:34 PM] SC_User: ma ne
287
[7:28:35 PM] Novi Covek: pa vidi, hvala ti puno
[7:28:40 PM] SC_User: on je dosao ovde
[7:28:50 PM] Novi Covek: a? pogresno sam shvatila?
[7:29:10 PM] SC_User: da doslo je do nekog nesporazuma?
[7:29:18 PM] SC_User: ja sam samo pricala o toj vezi
[7:29:22 PM] Novi Covek: cek sek
[7:29:24 PM] SC_User: ok
[7:29:25 PM] Novi Covek: ti si ga upoznala online
[7:29:33 PM] Novi Covek: onda ste se upoznali real u bgd
[7:29:35 PM] Novi Covek: i posle??
[7:29:49 PM] SC_User: da onda je posle ne znam koliko vremena on dosao ovde
[7:29:55 PM] SC_User: u atinu
[7:30:01 PM] Novi Covek: kod tebe?
[7:30:02 PM] SC_User: i ziveli smo par godina zajedno
[7:30:08 PM] Novi Covek: e sad kapiram
[7:30:10 PM] SC_User: pa da
[7:30:15 PM] Novi Covek: ok, to je to hvala
(8)
Sc_user: hej
mea.parvitas.sc_user is online.
Sc_user: soko zove orla :)
Sent at 2:13 PM on Monday
Jasmina: orao pao
:-)
zdravo
Sc_user: hahahahah
nije valjda :).
balkanski spijun :)
Jasmina: pa da
kako je fino razgovarati sa ljudima kod kojih se neke stvari vec podrazumevaju
kazi mi koliko imas vremena sada?
Sc_user: pa jedno 45 min :)
ako ti je to ok
Jasmina: mislim da ce to biti ok
Sc_user: ili cemo neki drugi dan, meni je sve jedno
ok
onda - raspali :)
Jasmina: sacekaj me samo par min da iskljucim ringlu
Sc_user: hahaha, ajd ajd
da proverim i ja peglu :)
Jasmina: hajde
proveri
Sc_user: ma salim se, ja sam na poslu
zavrsila sam sta sam imala za danas
Jasmina: hahah, ok
moze?
288
Sc_user: moze
Jasmina: kazi mi prvo kako si uopste nasla serbian cafe? kako je doslao do toga da ga
koristis?
Sc_user: cula sam od sestre, posto je ona pre 15ak godina bila u USA, pa ga je tada "archila"
tako da sam prvo vreme bila odusevljena idejom o Serbianu
a posle sam videla da bas i nije tako super
posto su diskutanti uglavnom potresni
Jasmina: ali sestra ti je to preporucila kao sta?
Sc_user: kao mogucnost chata :)
Jasmina: a zasto chat na serbian cafeu?
Sc_user: to je bila oko 2000.godine, pre i nego sto sam dosla ovde
tad me je uglavnom samo chatovanje i zanimalo
po sistemu da upoznav nove ljude, van mog sela
zato sto su takodje srbi, valjda, danas bih rekla zato sto smo istog jezika, pa i ne bili srbi
Jasmina: znaci rekal ti je idi na SC tamo imas alatku da upoznas nove ljude. nove ljude gde?
Sc_user: pa nove ljude upoznas prvo na netu
a posle i uzivo
i dana danas imam PRAVA prijateljstva sa neta
Jasmina: i kako je to kod tebe islo? kakvo je tvoje iskustvo
Sc_user: pa prvo nikad nisam davala prave podatke na prvu loptu
uvek sam se predstavljala kao marija iz kragujevca koja je 75.godiste i studira engelski :)
tek kad bih se cesce "vidjala" sa ljudima, onda bismo presli na icq ili neki drugi sistem
da ima bolesnika - ima ih sila, ali ima zaista pristojnog sveta
Jasmina: a kako si nasla ljude bas iz tvog novog okruzenja?
Sc_user: pa ciljano :)
Jasmina: sta to znaci
Sc_user: uvek sam gledala odakle se javljaju
Jasmina: koje diskusije posecujes? kojim diskusijama doprinosis?
aha. kako , objasni mi malo proces
Sc_user: pri tome, mogao si odmah da batalis ove sto se zovi LepiBec, MaliBEc, VelikiBec,
bogatiBec i tt :)
sad posecujem samo diskusije na serbianu, i to ne redovno, i sama ne znam zasto ih
posecujem, kad tamo mozes cesto da procitas uvrede, nepotpune informacije i slicne stvari
medjutim, mislim da moj "prosvetarski" duh ne miruje, tako da kad "procitam" da neko deluje
normalno i pristojno, trazim da ostavi email ako hoce i onda probam ljudima da na
jednostavan nacin objasim to sta ih interesuje
svesna sam da ne znam SVE, ali znam gde moze da se pita
celu ovu pricu mogu da ti pricam "sa dva sesira"
sa jednim - kao migrantkinja, koja ima ista iskustva sa nepoznavanjem sistem a
i kao neko ko radi sa migrantima i vidi istu tu problematiku samo sa druge strane
Jasmina: cekaj malo sad.
Sc_user: ajd
Jasmina: prvo pokusaj malo da se vratis unazad, da pogledas na ovu stvar bez porefionalnog
backgrounda
Sc_user: ok
Jasmina: da se stis kada si ti bila ona koja se spremala da ide i kad si tek bila otisla
Sc_user: ja sam ZNALA jos pre nego sto sam dosla ovde da necu uspeti da se "snadjem"
ako ne budem poznavala ljude, odnosno ako ne znam kako ovde stvari funkcionisu
289
Jasmina: tada si dobila preporuku da koristsi SC i koristila si je za chatovanje i upoznavanje
sa drugima. jesam te dobro shavtila
aha?
Sc_user: da da
Jasmina: kako si ZNALA da ti trebaju novi ljudi tu?
Sc_user: pa lepo, znala sam prostu cinjenicu da necu imati sredstava (citaj para) da mnogo
trcim naokolo, nego da cu brzo morati da nadjem posao, posto otac nije bio u mogucnosti da
me finansira
tako da je moj cilj bio da se sto pre upisem na fax i da nadjem bilo kakav posao. a to je sve
tesko bez da znas nemacki, zato sam potrazila NASE ljude na netu
Jasmina: sat si od njih ocekivala?
sta
Sc_user: samo da mi daju informacije GDE da idem da se upisem, i GDE i KAKO se trazi
posao kad si student :)
Jasmina: aha, znaci trazila si savte onih koji su vec bili u tvojoj situaciji
I kome si se onda obracala na Serbian Cafeu?
Sc_user: naravno, potajno sam ocekivala da ce neko da kaze "sve cu ja to da sredim", ali
sam u stvarnosti bila zadovoljna sto su mi ljudi rekli bukvalno "sednes na tramvaj brroj 4 i
ides do te i te stanice, tamo ti je rektorat, pise ovo, ides u tu sobu, tamo pricaju engleski, itd"
pa uglavnom na diskusiji austrija
Jasmina: znaci vrlo konkretni saveti?
Sc_user: da da
i moram priznati sve je bilo tacno u milimetar :)
Jasmina: Ti si pitala za direktne probleme vezane za fakx i posao i dobijala konkretne
odgovre
bravo!
Sc_user: jes
Jasmina: da li verujes informacijama koje dobijes na SC?
Sc_user: vise ne :)
Jasmina: sada ne a tada jesi??
Sc_user: mislim da i dalje ima (samo)kriticnih ljudi, ali da se vecina razbacuje pausalnim
informacijama
mislim i da sam imala prilicno srece tada
Jasmina: pa kako znas kome da verujes a kome ne?
kako vrsis tu procenu?
Sc_user: jer kad citam danasnje diskusije, gde se cesto pisu nepotpune informacije (na
osnovu kojih pak neko donosi bitne odluke)....
pre svega po pismenosti
Jasmina: hm zanimljivo. onda?
Sc_user: nisam sigurno vuk karadzic, ali se pomalo jos razumem u maternji jezik
Jasmina: mislis da su pismeniji iskreniji?
Sc_user: druga stvar je nacin izrazavanja
ama jok! nisu iskreniji, nego bolje znaju nesto da ti objasne :)
Jasmina: a!
ok
Sc_user: ako je jos neko ovde isao u skolu, to je jos bolje, jer se razume u ovdasnji obrazovni
sistem
Jasmina: pa dobro ali jos mi nije jasno kako procenis cija informacija je dobra?
290
jesi tu?
Sc_user: a i mislim da u danasnje vreme, iako ljudi dosta vremena provode na internetu,
nema jos puno entuzijasta koji ce namerno da ti daju pogresne info samo da bi te zeznuli
tu sam
Jasmina: aha ok
Sc_user: naravno, mozes da proveris tako sto ces da pitas dr.googla, a i tako sto ces da
pitas drugu osobu :)
Jasmina: da li si koristila, ili koristis SC da se informises o drustvu, sredini u koju si dosla?
Sc_user: koristila sam, da, sada vise ne
Jasmina: znaci na pocetku kada nisi imala puno informacija jesi.
Sc_user: da da i te kako
ali sad vec "vladam" tim basics, tako da mi treba vise
Jasmina: da li si ostvarila nova poznanstva zahvaljujuci aktivnosti na SC?
Sc_user: jesam, ali ta poznanstva ovde vise nisu aktuelna
naravno da to nema veze sa SC, nego sa mojim i njihoim nacinom zivota
Jasmina: ne razumem? jesi nekoga upoznala preko SC ali?
Sc_user: ali vise nismo u kontaktu
Jasmina: aha
a jesu to bili ljudi van kruga tvojih prijatelja?
Sc_user: znas ono, nemate vise ista interesovanja, ili jednostavno se nema vremena, sto
puta dogovarate kafu i n iko ne moze jer svi rade kao manijaci
nisu bili samo muskarci :)
upoznala sam par normalnih devojaka koje su duze ovde i nemaju puno prijatelja
ili su jednostavno hteli da daju informacije o tome za sta su bili strucni
Jasmina: ma kapriam, ali ni jedan od tih kontakata nije dosao pre neke druge drugarice, nego
si nasla u svojoj novoj sredini potpuno nove devojke?
preko
Sc_user: i svi ti ljudi koje sam upoznala su bili bas "domacinska" deca :)
da da
Jasmina: e cek to mi malo objasni
Sc_user: znaci, ja sam ih upoznala preko neta
Jasmina: sta to znaci domacinska deca?
to
Sc_user: a posle sam ovde naravfno upoznala jos kamaru ljudi
Jasmina: ?
Sc_user: hahaha, pdomacinska deca su lepo vaspitana i pristojna, a ne neki probisveti :)
Jasmina: a to, to je bas lepo , kako se to kaze kod vas, kinderstube?
Sc_user: hahaha, ne znam na sta mislis? :)
kindergarten ili kako?
Jasmina: ahja ne pricam nemacki ali sam cula da se na nemackom domace vaspitanje kaze
kindershtube tako nesto
verovatno sam pogresila
Sc_user: aha
aus der kinderstube :)
Jasmina: e to! vidis nisam daleko
;-)
Sc_user: to je fina, becka skola :)
291
Jasmina: i kazi mi ti ljudi , novi ljudi koje si upoznala na SC, jel neki od tih kontakata bio
vazan tebi?
Sc_user: kako mislis?
Jasmina: pa da li bi bilo koji od tih kontkata nazvala vaznim? pomogao ti da nadjes stan,
posao, dao ti neki vaznu informaciju, postao ti blizak prijatelj, decko... bilo sta
Sc_user: toliko vazno ne, ali su mi te BASIC-info bile jako znacajne
kazem ti, sa nekim ljudima sam se i vidjala neko vreme, ali posle je i to prestalo
Jasmina: a kako ste presli sa online kontkakta na realni kontakt u pravom zivotu?
kako je to islo?
Sc_user: posto su obe strane shvatile da je ovaj drugi ok, i onda smo razmenili brojeve tel ili
email i dogovorili se da se nadjemo
Jasmina: a gore , ranije, si mi pomenula da nakon tog pocetnog proveravanja sa laznim
podacima, imate obicaj da predjete na neku drugu alatku i preko nje odrzavate kontakt??
Sc_user: da, tada sam koristila icq za chat
ili smo se jednostavno dopisivali mailom
sto je mislim, opustenije za oboje
Jasmina: i preko icq ili maila ste se posle dogovarali da se najdet u relanom zivotu?
nadjete
Sc_user: pa mislim da je bilo i jednog i drugog
Jasmina: izvini opet ne kapiram, cega i jednog i drugog?
Sc_user: susrete dogovarali i na mailu i na chatu
Jasmina: a to, ok.
Sc_user: a nekad uopste nije ni doslo do susreta
znaci nisam upoznala sto ljudi
nego 5-6 :)
Jasmina: e to sam bas htela dA TE PITAM
citas mi misli
tj pitanja
;-)
Sc_user: hahah
jes
Jasmina: pa dobro, ako se sad jos drzimo tog provobitnog iskustva
kako bi okarakterisala SC, kako je on uticao na tvoj realni zivot u novoj sredini?
Sc_user: cek, tel
Jasmina: ok
Sc_user: ajd
pa i nije da mi nije pomogao!
ali samo za pocetak
mislim da je to velika zamka, ako se uhvatis u taj virtuelni svet
mislim da moze voz da te pregazi a da ne provalis sta te snasnlo :)
Jasmina: ali to sto kazes "nije da mi nije pomogao" pisano sa manje negacija znaci...
Sc_user: hocu da kazem, te neke pocetne info tipa ko gde sta
a posle najbolje sam da trazis ili da skupljlas informacije uzivo
ne ne, nisam tako mislila
jeste mi pomoglo!
Jasmina: haha to sam i mislila
Sc_user: ahha eto vidis da sve znas
292
Jasmina: znaci SC ti je pomogao u pocetku kao informativni centar na neki nacin, da se
informises
Sc_user: jeste!
Jasmina: a onda i da sklopis neka nova poznanstva virtualna i relana?
Sc_user: ali living info-centar :)
Jasmina: mislis interaktivni u tom smislu?
Sc_user: znaci, od LJUDI sam dobila informacije, ne citajuci text sa portala
jes
Jasmina: da da!
to mi je i bitno
Sc_user: to to!
sta si u horoskopu?
Jasmina: hahahahah
HAHAHA
Sc_user: da nemas merkura u skorpiji? :)
Jasmina: de vi ca!
Sc_user: hahhahah
Jasmina: merkur u ..
Sc_user: precizna da nema kud dalje
Jasmina: cek devici ja mislim
Sc_user: meni je 5 planeta u devici
Jasmina: oh da
i meni!
uh kakav spoj
Sc_user: eto ti ga!
dobro
da se vratimo
Jasmina: eh cek jos da te pitam nesto pa da prejem na nesto off the record
da
Sc_user: ajd ajd
Jasmina: da li mozes da mi kazes onda, imajuci sve ovo u vidu, koja je tvoja motivacija da
koristis SC tada bila?
direktno
Sc_user: da nadjem ljude koji ce da mi pruze informacije o tome sto mi treba da prezivim
tamo "preko" :)
prosto receno
i to sam sigurno tako mislila i tad
niti frajer, niti ne znam sta, nego bas to!
ja sam covek sistematicar :)
Jasmina: a da li ti je bio cilj da koristis SC da upoznas nekoga?
da li si mislila da ces preko toga upzonati nekog "tamo"
Sc_user: mislim da mi je to samo bio sporedan cilj
tipa - ako se desi
Jasmina: ali si znala da moze da se desi?
Sc_user: pa nisam bas tol´ka emotivno-drustvena spodoba da niko nece sa mnom da se
druzi
HAHAHAHAH
Jasmina: hahaha
293
ali mislim otkud si znala?
Sc_user: ej
iako obilujem kompleksom kompleksa
znam da svojim jezikom makar, tj. spikom mogu da animiram ljude
to sam i tad znala
Jasmina: ma to mi je jasno, vrlo si komunikativna i razlozna, logicna.
Sc_user: jeste, to je zbog horoskopa :)
izvini sto te kratim, ali ja bih morala da krenem ! jel ti ok da nastavimo sutra?
Jasmina: ah nema frke
mozemop da se vidimo sutra
ostalo ej samo privatno caskanje
zainteresovala si me
;-)
javi se, ja sam sutra tu radim svaki dan na ovome. zanima me i tovj elicno profesionalno
iskustvo u becu i taj rad sa imigrantima
Sc_user: ma to je roman!
ajde onda uzdravlje!
do sutra!
Jasmina: ok, onda cemo romane nekom drugom prilikom. hvala ti uzivala sam
(9)
1. Kako ste nasli, otkrili, Serbian café? Kako ste dosli do toga da ga koristite?
Preko prijateljice spomenuto u razgovoru. Prvi put sam ga koristila u kompjuter lab u
Koledzu poslje nastave, u malim pauzama dok sam vjezbala kucanje
daktilografiju.
jel to prijateljica kanadjanka ili nasa koja zivi u kanadi?
Dosla u Kanadu , godinu dana prije mene, inace iz Srbije
2. Zasto koristite Serbian Café?
Da se procitaju vijesti, poneka diskusija, imaju interensantnu nasolovnu stranu, probrano sa
svih strana svijeta
Mogu da se vide reklame, sta se desava od kulturnih dogadjanja u okolini.
na koje kulturne dogadjaje mislis? iz koje okoline?
Pa Serbian cafe je prilagodjen svakoj zemlji, tako da u Kanadi reklamiraju napr koji pjevaci
gostuju u Torontu, Kalgari, Vancouver
dal se otvara folkorna grupa za djecu u navedenih vecim gradovima, jel ima knjizevno vece,
neko prodaje knjige koje se mogu naruciti iz Srbije
sa isporukom u Kanadi. Tako se SC financira i postoji zbog tih reklama. Moj muz poznaje
gazdu i osnivaca site, i zna da naplacuje 150-500 $ po oglasu
zavisno od pozicije na stranici.
3. Za koje svrhe koristite Serbian Café? Koje diskusije citate? Kojim diskusijama
doprinosite
,Moja mala spona sa maticom. Citam diskusije Krajina, Knin, Toronto, Brak i porodica,
Trudnice i mamice.
294
Na jednim sam napravila grafiku na vrh stranice. Ponekad pisem na trudnice i mamice.
podijelim sa zenama svoje iskustvo, citam sta one pisu.
4. Sta ocekujete od vase aktivnosti na Serbian Cafeu?
Ne ocekujem puno. Da saznam nesto sto nisam znala, da mi isprica osoba koja je to iskusila
, a neka neka vijest ili propaganda
koju vrsta iskustava razmenjujes? i koju vrstu informacija? molim te malo mi pojasni
Pa pisem sta se meni desilo, nedavno sam pustila temu kako je moja komsinica zvala miliciju
kada mi je beba plakala po noci
i oni dosli da pitaju dal je zlostavljamo , budili je i baterijom zagledali. to je jedno iskustvo,
koje je zacudilo mame u drugim zemljama.
Pisala sam kako izgleda jedan moj dan, jer radim, muz i ja nemamo nikog blizu i kako se
snalazimo
Informacije tipa, koju hranu dajem bebi. Infromacije kada neko pita kako napr ostvariti djeciji
dodatak, trazi prevod na engleski
ili kako pripremiti djete na put avionom. Eto sada mi te teme padaju na pamet sa te diskusije.
Na Krajini sam pisala svoje price kako se osjecam kako mi nedostaje
5. Kome se obracate na Serbian Cafeu?
Nikog ne znam po imenu ni licno , samo primjetim par nickova. Nikad se nisam obracala
nekom moderatoru
6. Kakve informacije mozete aci na Sebian Cafeu?
Najvise volim kuvar. Linkove za nase novine i vijesti. Podatke o nekoj novotvorenoj kompaniji
koju drze nase ljudi. Liste travel agencija.
7. Da li verujete informacijama koje dobijete na Serbian Cafeu?
Ne vjerujem svima, pola njih smatram za zabavu i ubijanje vremena.
ovo znaci da nekima i verujes? kako procenjujes ko su kontakti kojima verujes?
Pa, napr tebe sam procijenila odmah kao ozbiljnu , jer vidim po nacinu pisanja, bogatom
izboru rijeci da ste obrazovana osoba
ili kada neko drugi pise, vidim da je skromna osoba, da se ne pravi pametan nekim
dvosimslenim komentarima
napr nesto erotsko, kao sto je vama odgovorio na Toronto, nick "Slani"
Neki ljudi su dosli samo da namjerno provociraju, kazu nesto zlobno ili ironicno. Neki su
dobronamjerni.
Druga stvar, ne znam dal vam je poznato, na SC dolazi jako puno drugih nacija, koji mrze
Srbe i zele da sruse site i da nas zavade
upadicama, vecina njih se krije iza nika, koji nosi Srpski naziv kako se ne bih otkrili, ili se
prave dobri samo da bi izvukli informacije.
Kako kaze nas narod "Vrag nikad ne spava" Zato nikad ne idem na diskusije politika.
8.
Da li koristite Serbina Café da se informisete o drustvu, sredini u koju ste se doselili?
295
Moze da se postavi pitanje , pola odgovora je ironicno ili cisto ruganje. Mogu jedino da
saznam na sta se nasi zale.
sta im smeta u drustvu, i kako misle da su oni puno sposobniji od Kanadajana, lijepsi, bolje
obuceni, imaju vece znanje
i bolji radnici na poslu.
9. Da li ste ostvarili nova poznanstva zahvaljujuci aktivnosti na Serbian CAfeu?
Samo virtuelno, trajalo je par mijeseci i proslo.
da li se secas u kom trenutku je to bilo? kad si stigla u kanadu, malo kasnije... kad si
uspostavila ta nova poznanstva
Prve godina dolaska sam sebi stavila nekoliko zadataka
da bolje naucim Engleski- uspjela za 6 mjeseci , da nadjem bilo kakav posao i saljem kuci ,
da zaradim za avionsku kartu
to mi je uzelo dvije godinei
Znaci faza usamljenosti me spopala kada sam se vratila iz Vojvodine, tu smo izbjegli iz Knina
(roditelji i sestre)
Tamo sam imala decka i jedva cekala da ga vidim, a on nije dosao na prvi sastanak
Tek kada sam se vratila saznala sam da je imao djevojku sve vrijeme , i ona mu je rodila
djete, 3 mjeseca nakon sto sam se ja vratila
a u posjeti sam bila 3 sedmice.
Znaci tada sam se razocarala u muskarce, vidila da nema od te veze nista i pocela traziti
nova poznanstva na chatu
Tu sam se razocarala i prestala da dolazim nakon 2 mjeseca, kada sam vidila da muskarci
koji su zivili blizu zele samo neobavezni sex,
a oni iz Srbije su otvoreno govorili da hoce da ih dovedem u Kanadu da bi se ozenili i nakon
6 mjeseci razveli.
Zenske nisu htjele da pricaju sa zenskim to im je bilo gubljenje vremena jer su i one dosle
samo da zbare nesto.
10. Da li ste ostvarili vazne kontakte online, van vasih kruga prijatelja, preko aktivnosti na
Serbian Cafeu?
Nijedan vazan kontakt, ljudi su jako nepovjerljivi, kriju se iza nickova, a sa nekim sam zivila u
istom gradu
i nisu htjeli priznati da su to oni.
11. Kako vasa online aktivnost, aktivnost na Serbian Cafeu, utice na vas stvarni zivot?
Nema puno utjecaja, kao sto rekoh poslusam neki savjet, volim cuti kako se zivi po drugim
zemljama.
Koristim SC 14 godina i svake godine je sve gori sto se tice diskusija. Cini mi se da je malo
ko ozbiljan.
Prije se moglo naci lijepih tekstova na Romanticnom kutku, neke price su mi se dopadale da
sam ih stampala
ili lijepih pjesama. Sada se izgleda mjenja generacija .
12. Da li koristite Serbian Café da bi ste sreali nove ljude u vasem stvarnom zivotu? Ako da,
kako?
296
Ne koristim da sretnem nove ljude u stvarnom zivotu, tek kada sam dosla u Kanadu i bila
usamljena
isla sam na chat, ali sam vidjela da je to samo bio nacin da se neko sretne na jedan
vikend, pa sam prekinula sa tim.
Znam neke ljude koji su tako stupili u brak.
stupili su u brak tako sto su se upoznali na serbian cafeu?
Da, znam curu iz mog grada, koja je preko chata SC, upoznala decka iz Austrije , otisla da ga
vidi i nakon 6 mjeseci presla da zivi tamo
i za godinu se vjencali
Drugi slucaj, cura iz Knina, izbjegla u Srbiju, upoznala decka iz Knina, koji je emigrirao u
Australiju i on je pozove kod sebe
za jedno ljeto, ona odlucila da ostane i vjencali se.
Za druge slucajeve sam cula iz price, ne znam ih licno.
(10)
[4:13:03 PM] sc_user: moze pitaj
[4:13:55 PM] Novi Covek: kazi mi prvo da li sam te pitala za godine, broj godina u provedenih
u skoli-ili skolsku spremu, nacionalnost i trenutno mesto boravka
[4:14:11 PM] sc_user: da
[4:14:19 PM] sc_user: odgovorio sam ti
[4:14:25 PM] Novi Covek: cek onda sekundu da to pronadjem
[4:15:02 PM] Novi Covek: pod kojim mposlaoejlom si mi t
[4:15:17 PM] sc_user: sasa
[4:15:17 PM] Novi Covek: pod kojim mejlom je to poslato, nemam nigde vladimira radosevica
[4:15:20 PM] Novi Covek: aaa
[4:15:43 PM] Novi Covek: sasa milenkovi
[4:15:44 PM] Novi Covek: c
[4:16:01 PM] Novi Covek: eh dok ja pohvatam sva ta imena
[4:16:03 PM] Novi Covek: drago mi je
[4:17:28 PM] Novi Covek: ti si civek sa onom zanimljivom zivotnom pricom
[4:17:30 PM] Novi Covek: sad znam
[4:17:49 PM] Novi Covek: kazi mi molim te kako si otkrio Serbian Cafe? kako je doslo do toga
da ga koristis?
[4:18:24 PM] sc_user: ma to je prvo sto sam nasao kad sam kupio kom u kanadi
[4:18:33 PM] Novi Covek: kako si nasao?
[4:18:36 PM] sc_user: preko jednig prijatelja
[4:18:49 PM] Novi Covek: sta je prijatelj uradio?
[4:19:15 PM] sc_user: ma nista samo rekao imas jedan sajt nas
[4:19:22 PM] sc_user: serbijan cafe
[4:19:35 PM] sc_user: tu ces videti sv info
[4:19:41 PM] Novi Covek: a zasto ti je bio potreban "nas" sajt?
[4:19:53 PM] Novi Covek: za koje stvari si tu mogao da se informises?
[4:20:26 PM] sc_user: vesti iz zemlje
[4:20:37 PM] sc_user: kao prvo u tom momentu
[4:21:13 PM] Novi Covek: a posle?
297
[4:21:58 PM] sc_user: kako sam sticao znanje iz oblasti komp onda sam video razne stvari
od foruma itd
[4:22:37 PM] Novi Covek: za oje svhe koristis SC? koje diskusije citas? kojim diskusijama
doprinosis?
[4:24:34 PM] sc_user: ma prvenstveno radi vesti onda citam razne forume kao od kucni
ljubimci pa kompijuteri
[4:24:46 PM] sc_user: ma razne forume
[4:24:56 PM] Novi Covek: a koje te informacije na diskusijama zanimaju?
[4:26:20 PM] sc_user: pa prvenstveno nesto sto ce mi pomoci da nesto bolje saznam u vezi
npr. zivotinje posto imam psa
[4:26:41 PM] sc_user: onda o kompijuterima
[4:26:56 PM] Novi Covek: a da li korists SC da se informises o drustvu, sredini u kojoj zivis?
[4:27:00 PM] sc_user: onda diskusije o mom gradu
[4:27:14 PM] sc_user: da sad sam hteo da napisem
[4:27:20 PM] Novi Covek: haha, super
[4:27:32 PM] Novi Covek: i kakve informacije tu mozes da najdes? sta te tu zanima?
[4:28:16 PM] sc_user: ma recimo sta se desava sta je danas zanimljivo koncerti ,izlozbe
,promocije knjiga itd
[4:28:29 PM] sc_user: bude svega
[4:28:51 PM] Novi Covek: da li si ostvario neko novo poznanstvo preko sc? da li si upoznao
nekoga online van kruga svojih prijatelja?
[4:29:43 PM] sc_user: ma nisam licno ali znam neke ljude koji stalno daju komentare ili sam
im ja pomogo u necemu
[4:30:05 PM] sc_user: pa se jave
[4:30:50 PM] sc_user: mejlom
[4:30:55 PM] Novi Covek: znaci novi kontakti su stigli online
[4:31:04 PM] sc_user: ma da
[4:31:16 PM] Novi Covek: a da li si ostvario neki licni kontakt zahvaljujuci sc?
[4:31:25 PM] Novi Covek: neki korisni kontakt u relanom zivotu?
[4:31:31 PM] Novi Covek: bilo kakve prirode
[4:31:32 PM] sc_user: ne
[4:31:50 PM] Novi Covek: znaci nikad ne koristis niti si koristio sc da se sa nekim sretnes u
realnom zivotu?
[4:32:01 PM] sc_user: sem sa ljudima koje znam
[4:32:06 PM] sc_user: licno
[4:32:30 PM] Novi Covek: cekaj sekund, jel to znaci da koristis SC da se vidis u realnom
zivotu sa ljudima koje znas od pre?
[4:32:43 PM] Novi Covek: od pre nego si poceo da korisits sc?
[4:32:43 PM] sc_user: ne
[4:32:46 PM] Novi Covek: nego?
[4:33:12 PM] sc_user: ma nekad neki moj drug je na forumu iz mog grada
[4:33:26 PM] Novi Covek: a odakle znas druga?
[4:33:27 PM] sc_user: na to sam mislio
[4:33:48 PM] sc_user: znam ga odavde zato sto se druzimo
[4:34:02 PM] Novi Covek: ali ga nisi upoznao preko SC?
[4:34:08 PM] sc_user: recimo kao ja i ti sad
[4:34:15 PM] sc_user: ne nisam
298
[4:34:28 PM] Novi Covek: ali ponekad procaskate preko sc i dogovrite se za susret ??
[4:34:28 PM] sc_user: znamo se sa posla
[4:34:40 PM] Novi Covek: a obojica koristite sc?
[4:34:42 PM] sc_user: ma o nekim temamaa
[4:34:56 PM] sc_user: fudbal je upitanju
[4:35:06 PM] Novi Covek: jel organizujete fudbal preko sc?
[4:35:08 PM] sc_user: i onda jamo na pice
[4:35:18 PM] Novi Covek: zanimljivo
[4:35:32 PM] sc_user: ma jok komentari samo oko utakmica
[4:35:55 PM] Novi Covek: a, pricte o fudbalu pa se onda dogovirte i da se nadjete na picu?
tako to ide?
[4:36:44 PM] sc_user: ma on za partizan ja za zvezdu navija pa tako pricamo i onda dobro je
dodji da po[pijemo nesto
[4:36:50 PM] Novi Covek: kome se obracas na sc?
[4:37:00 PM] sc_user: kako mislis
[4:37:30 PM] Novi Covek: pa imas li neku posebnu osobu kojoj se orbacas? neke posebne
teme? ili se obracas bilo kome u zavisnosti od teme?
[4:37:53 PM] sc_user: ma zavisi od teme koja me zanima
[4:38:00 PM] sc_user: nema niko poseban
[4:38:16 PM] Novi Covek: a kazi mi molim te kakve informacije covek moze naci na SC?
[4:38:26 PM] Novi Covek: i da li se moze verovati tim informacijama?
[4:38:36 PM] sc_user: zavisi od tema
[4:38:42 PM] sc_user: i zavisi ko pise
[4:38:47 PM] Novi Covek: pa na rpimer, jel mozes da nabrojis neke informacije
[4:38:52 PM] sc_user: naravno da moze
[4:38:56 PM] Novi Covek: ?
[4:39:08 PM] sc_user: u vezi problema sa kompom
[4:39:17 PM] Novi Covek: aha, sta jos?
[4:39:18 PM] sc_user: tu ce ljudi da pomognu
[4:39:23 PM] Novi Covek: super
[4:39:28 PM] Novi Covek: kako znas da mozes da im verujes?
[4:39:32 PM] sc_user: kucni ljubimci
[4:39:36 PM] sc_user: isto
[4:39:48 PM] Novi Covek: jel ima jos nesto korisno?
[4:40:02 PM] sc_user: muzika
[4:40:06 PM] sc_user: film video
[4:40:17 PM] Novi Covek: a jel ima nesto korisno o zivotu u kanadi? ontariu?
[4:40:24 PM] sc_user: info u gradu
[4:40:41 PM] sc_user: naravno ali ne bas puno
[4:40:56 PM] Novi Covek: sta ocekujes od tovje aktivnosti na sc?
[4:41:07 PM] sc_user: neznam iz kog razloga ljudi se slabije javljaju
[4:41:14 PM] Novi Covek: stvarno?
[4:41:33 PM] Novi Covek: ranije su se vise javljali?
[4:41:36 PM] sc_user: mozda teme nisu interesantne
[4:41:40 PM] sc_user: neznam
299
[4:41:53 PM] Novi Covek: a sta ti ocekujes od tvoje aktivnosti na sc?
[4:42:30 PM] sc_user: nista specijalno samo ako mogu nekome da pomognem to jeto
[4:42:43 PM] Novi Covek: znaci ti sada pomazes drugima na sc?
[4:42:48 PM] Novi Covek: u kojim temama?
[4:42:57 PM] sc_user: recimo koliko mogu
[4:43:01 PM] sc_user: i znam
[4:43:18 PM] Novi Covek: ali na primer sta dobro znas? na kojim diskusijama najvise
pomazes, koje teme?
[4:44:08 PM] sc_user: ma nista specijalno svugde sam citam i ako vidim da znam tu temu
pokusam da dam odgovor
[4:44:24 PM] Novi Covek: nesto o kanadi ili o tehnici?
[4:44:40 PM] sc_user: da recimo
[4:44:44 PM] sc_user: to
[4:44:49 PM] Novi Covek: kako tvoja online aktivnost na Sc utice na tvoj relani zivot?
[4:45:20 PM] sc_user: nista strasno kad se ima vremena
[4:45:38 PM] Novi Covek: znaci jedini uticaj koji osecas je taj da trosis vreme?
[4:45:59 PM] Novi Covek: ili ima nesto u cemu uzivas dok to radis?
[4:46:19 PM] sc_user: da samo vreme da se ubije
[4:46:27 PM] Novi Covek: ok hvala ti puno
[4:46:29 PM] Novi Covek: to je to
[4:46:41 PM] Novi Covek: ako mi nesto bude nedostajalo zvacu te ponovo da te pitam
[4:47:00 PM] sc_user: vazi nadam se da sm ti pomogao bar malo
[4:47:03 PM] Novi Covek: ali imam neki blagi utisak da ipak mnogo vise pomazes ljudima
nego sto sam ja u ovom intervjuu uspela da saznam
[4:47:05 PM] Novi Covek: jesi naravno
[4:47:09 PM] Novi Covek: hvala ti puno za tvoje vreme
[4:47:18 PM] sc_user: nista
[4:47:22 PM] Novi Covek: sve njabolje
(11)
[7:31:40 PM] Novi Covek: kako si pronasla serbian cafe? kako je doslo do toga da ga
koristis?
[7:32:07 PM] SC_User: prvi put sam pronasla
[7:32:13 PM] SC_User: kad sam bila u africi, znaci 2001
[7:32:26 PM] SC_User: prije toga nisam znala za to, a posto tamo nisam radila, imala sam
puno slobodnog
[7:32:38 PM] SC_User: vremena, dosta sam bila na internetu i na forumima
[7:32:48 PM] Novi Covek: ali kako si pronasla? slucajno?
[7:32:54 PM] SC_User: sasvim slucajno
[7:33:04 PM] Novi Covek: zasto koristis serbina cafe?
[7:33:19 PM] SC_User: google, a zamisli, imala sam prilku upoznati jednu osobu sa foruma
licno, a i dan danas se cujemo
[7:33:30 PM] Novi Covek: sa serbian cafe foruma?
[7:33:41 PM] SC_User: koristim da citam vijesti iz zemlje, zatim za recepte, a nekad idem na
forum, sad nemam bas vremena
[7:33:47 PM] SC_User: da, da bas sa foruma!
[7:33:59 PM] SC_User: jedna zena, divna zena
[7:34:21 PM] SC_User: nekad pokusam i traziti informacije
[7:34:39 PM] Novi Covek: cek sekund molim te
300
[7:34:46 PM] SC_User: ok
[7:35:05 PM] Novi Covek: e cekaj to me sve zanima
[7:35:14 PM] SC_User: ok :)
[7:35:19 PM] Novi Covek: prvo za koje svrhe koristis SC?
[7:35:34 PM] Novi Covek: vesti, recepti, a sta radis na forumu? koji su ti motivi?
[7:35:42 PM] SC_User: informacije i razmjena iskustava, citanje vijesti, recepata
[7:35:55 PM] Novi Covek: kakvu vrstu infromacije trazis?
[7:35:57 PM] SC_User: hm...motivi na forumu? razmjeniti iskustva s ljudima
[7:36:20 PM] Novi Covek: koju vrstu iskustva?
[7:36:42 PM] SC_User: pa nekad trazim informacije o letovima, o novostima u domovini,
nekad me zanima stanje u odrejdenoj zemlji
[7:37:09 PM] SC_User: iskustva razna, recimo kakav je zivot u nekoj zemlji, kakvo je
zdravtsveno, socijalno, odnos plate i stvarnosti...
[7:37:39 PM] Novi Covek: uporedjues sa svojom zemljom ili?
[7:37:56 PM] SC_User: i sa svojom domovinom a i zemljom u kojom zivim
[7:38:07 PM] SC_User: jer shvatam da ovde ne pripadam, zanima me gdje dalje
[7:38:41 PM] Novi Covek: znaci trazis informacije o drugim mestima od ljudi koji zive tamo i
ponda smisljas gde ces?
[7:38:45 PM] Novi Covek: i koja zemlja vodi?
[7:39:15 PM] SC_User: 8-) da, uporedjujem. pa zadnje dve godine sam istrazivala njemacku,
svicarsku i englesku. idem u englesku
[7:39:24 PM] Novi Covek: to si mi rekla
[7:39:36 PM] Novi Covek: ali na osovu cega si donela tu odluku?
[7:39:43 PM] SC_User: tamo mi je cerka
[7:39:49 PM] Novi Covek: na osnovu toga sta su ti rekli ljudi iz engleske ili.. ipak sto ti je
cerak tamo
[7:39:55 PM] Novi Covek: bila si brza, citas mi misli
[7:40:10 PM] SC_User: govorim engleski perfektno, lakse se snadjem nego negdje gdje treba
da ucim jezik, i dosadilo mi ucnje jezika haha
[7:40:21 PM] Novi Covek: e da znas i meni!! I MENI
[7:40:34 PM] Novi Covek: ali o tome cemo posle kad zavrsimo ovaj obavezni "naucnicki " deo
[7:40:52 PM] SC_User: nisu imali ljudi uticaja na moju odluku, meni bi bilo puno bolje idem u
svedsku ili norvesku recimo
[7:41:06 PM] Novi Covek: ali ces otici zbog cerke?
[7:41:35 PM] SC_User: uslovi i prava , imam sve kao da sam zivjela tamo. u engleskoj
nemam, ali dosta mi je bre prava i uslova, zelim da sam blize porodici. znaci cerka je glavni
razlog, a drugi je blizina evropi , a tome i kuci
[7:41:55 PM] Novi Covek: ti si super ! (F)
[7:41:58 PM] Novi Covek: cekaj idemo dalje
[7:42:05 PM] SC_User: hvala :)+
[7:42:19 PM] Novi Covek: kome se obracas na serbian cafeu?
[7:42:28 PM] Novi Covek: sta ocekujes od te aktivnosti?
[7:43:22 PM] SC_User: nikome direktno, obratim se grupi gdje smatram da moja tema
pripada. ocekujem iskrene informacije i pomoc, ali uglavnom dobijem ruzne rijeci i sve zavrsi
da neko nekog napada, ne samo moja tema-vidim i mnoge druge
[7:43:46 PM] Novi Covek: a kakve se informacije mogu naci na diskusijama una sc?
[7:43:55 PM] Novi Covek: na sc?
301
[7:44:47 PM] SC_User: maltene sve sta ti treba, gdje ima sta da se kupi, kakvi su zivotni
uslovi u drugom zemljama, shvati se isto da svi misle isto,da je trava uvijek drugdje zelenija
haha
[7:45:18 PM] Novi Covek: ali kazi mi molim te koje vrste informacija, sta spada u sve sta ti
treba: ?
[7:45:34 PM] Novi Covek: sta su zivotni uslovi u drugi zemljama za tebe?
[7:46:01 PM] SC_User: recimo kolika je plata, kolika je kirija za stan, cijene hrane, porezi,
troskovi zivotni, struja, voda, grijanje, avionske karte
[7:46:09 PM] Novi Covek: to! hvala
[7:46:17 PM] SC_User: ;)
[7:46:30 PM] Novi Covek: a kazi mi da li verujes tim informacijama koje dobijes? ako ispadne
svadja kako znas kome da verujes kome ne?
[7:47:29 PM] SC_User: uvijek sve uzmem s rezervom, jer imaju i statistike po zemljama koje
mozes da uporedis. uglavnom ako pratis forum cesto znas ko je oj a ko ne. zapamtis
nadimke, a i osjetis po pisanju da li je neko iskren
[7:47:52 PM] Novi Covek: hm, zanimljivo, a kako po pisanju?
[7:48:07 PM] SC_User: "citas izmedju redova"
[7:48:11 PM] Novi Covek: hahah
[7:48:22 PM] Novi Covek: i kako si znala da sma ja iskrena? sat je pisalo izmedju redova?
[7:48:32 PM] SC_User: ako visis dosta na forumu, mozes skuziti kako ko dise.
[7:48:33 PM] SC_User: hahahaha
[7:48:40 PM] Novi Covek: ;)
[7:48:52 PM] SC_User: ne znam, osjetila sam da si iskrena i da ti treba pomoc, a ja uvijek
pomazem svima ako mogu, pa eto
[7:49:05 PM] Novi Covek: divna si, hvala ti.
[7:49:29 PM] Novi Covek: da li koristis sc da bi se informisala o zemlji u koju zelis da ides, ili
o zemlji u kojoj jesi?
[7:50:19 PM] SC_User: nema na cemu, nasi ljudi su skepticni. ja se mislim, pa sta imas
koristi od mene ako lazes? scjesna sam dobro interneta i sta mogu a sta ne ;). uglavnom se
zanimam za zemlju u koju zelim da idem, zatim pratim vijesti iz domovine, a nikad ne idem
na forum gdje je tema zemlja u kojoj zivim
[7:50:36 PM] Novi Covek: zanimljivo
[7:50:50 PM] Novi Covek: a sto nikad zemlja u kojoj jesi?
[7:51:40 PM] SC_User: pa jednom am otisla i procitala sta neke dvije face pisu, to su
uglavnom bile izmisljotine da bi im se drugi divili ili zavidili. jer nema svako sansu da dodje
ovde i vidi je li to tako kako one kazu. otad ne idem vise
[7:52:12 PM] SC_User: neobrazovane neke glupace
[7:52:28 PM] Novi Covek: hm, da
[7:52:30 PM] Novi Covek: kapiram
[7:52:38 PM] SC_User: ne zelim da dolazim u sukob
[7:53:02 PM] Novi Covek: e hajmo sad na lepse stvari
[7:53:08 PM] SC_User: hajde
[7:53:08 PM] SC_User: haha
[7:53:19 PM] Novi Covek: da li si ostvarila neka nova poznanstva online zahvaljujci sc?
[7:53:38 PM] SC_User: bas direktno sc, jesam 3 zene
[7:53:52 PM] Novi Covek: kako?
[7:53:55 PM] Novi Covek: kako ste se nasle?
[7:54:02 PM] Novi Covek: i jesu li to zene van tvoga kruga prijatelja
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[7:54:22 PM] SC_User: jednu sam licno upopznala, druge dve ne, samo smo u kontaktu na
email
[7:54:42 PM] Novi Covek: ali su svi van kruga tvojih prijatelja?
[7:55:17 PM] SC_User: da, da
[7:55:30 PM] SC_User: mada ih smatram prijateljima
[7:55:43 PM] Novi Covek: naravno
[7:56:02 PM] Novi Covek: da li je neki od tih kontakata vazan kontakt tebi? u bilo kom
smislu?
[7:56:31 PM] SC_User: jeste, jedna od njih mi je vazan kontakt. mozemo da se povjerimo
jedna drugoj i utjesimo
[7:57:02 PM] Novi Covek: znaci jedna od njih je prijatelj i to blizak?
[7:57:19 PM] Novi Covek: kako ste se upoznale? kako je doslo do toga?
[7:57:28 PM] Novi Covek: opisi mi malo
[7:57:38 PM] SC_User: na kuvaru, razmjenjivale recepte i komentarisale
[7:58:03 PM] SC_User: onda sam ja spomenula da idem na godisnji u spaniju
[7:58:16 PM] SC_User: onda je ona rekla da zivi tamo i poslala mi email, zatim
[7:58:47 PM] Novi Covek: stvarno??
[7:58:51 PM] Novi Covek: bas divna zena
[7:58:55 PM] SC_User: sam svatila da je njen grad jako blizu kmjesta gdje ja idem, pa sam
joj rekla da cu doci da se upoznamo
[7:59:08 PM] SC_User: dotad smo samo znale internet nadimke jedna od druge, a pazi sad
[7:59:18 PM] Novi Covek: boze!
[7:59:34 PM] SC_User: hahah kad smo stupile u kontakt i upoznale se, ispalo je da se obe
zovemo vesna, da smo iz bosne i obe djevice u horoskopu!
[7:59:56 PM] Novi Covek: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
[8:00:03 PM] SC_User: zamisli!!!!!
[8:00:04 PM] Novi Covek: ceakj majke ti
[8:00:07 PM] SC_User: hehe
[8:00:09 PM] Novi Covek: nisi mi rekal odakle si?
[8:00:12 PM] SC_User: Prijedor
[8:00:19 PM] SC_User: ona iz Sarajeva
[8:00:27 PM] SC_User: ti?
[8:00:33 PM] SC_User: isto sarajevo?
[8:01:20 PM] Novi Covek: ja sam iz beograda, devica iz bgd ;) a muz mi je iz sarajeva a bila
sam u prijedoru! najlepse exyu kopno! te livade, sume...
[8:01:39 PM] SC_User: ajme jos jedna djevica, eto ja kazem tebi da imam osjecaj!!!
[8:02:04 PM] Novi Covek: hahahhaa
[8:02:05 PM] Novi Covek: da
[8:02:23 PM] Novi Covek: cekaj daj da ovo ozbiljno zavrsimo pa da idemo u privatni demo
medjusobnog obozavanja ;)
[8:02:30 PM] SC_User: hajde
[8:02:45 PM] Novi Covek: i gde zivi ta zena? gde ste se nasle? kako ste dogovrile?
[8:03:18 PM] SC_User: zivi u Spaniji, ja dosla u njen grad, srele se na rucku u restoranu,
razmjenile telefone
[8:03:52 PM] SC_User: ja dosla bila sa islanda, tad sam vec bila ovde, a prije toga smo samo
se cule na forumima jedno 3 godine
[8:04:16 PM] Novi Covek: ali to ste sve razmenile
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[8:04:18 PM] Novi Covek: na sc?
[8:04:38 PM] SC_User: ne, poslala sma joj email privatni
[8:04:41 PM] Novi Covek: a ok
[8:04:51 PM] Novi Covek: i sve ste dogovrile i kako je bilo?
[8:05:06 PM] SC_User: bilo je divno, rasplakale se obe haha
[8:05:16 PM] Novi Covek: jao ...... to je tako dirljivo
[8:05:33 PM] Novi Covek: znas, medju nama, ja se rasplacem na svako pismo koje sam
dobila od imigranata na sc
[8:05:50 PM] Novi Covek: kakvih prica tu ima, koliko ljudi dece sudbina, koliko trazenja
[8:05:52 PM] Novi Covek: koliko rana
[8:06:06 PM] SC_User: vjerujem, samo mi znamo kako nam je, niko durgi nas ne razumije
[8:06:14 PM] Novi Covek: niko.
[8:06:43 PM] SC_User: ni najrodjeniji, svi misle nama je super, pare rastu na drvecu, svega
ima u izobilju
[8:06:48 PM] Novi Covek: i kako bi okarakterisala sada posle svega i svih tih godina na sc,
kako SC utice na tvoj stvarni zivot?
[8:07:00 PM] Novi Covek: e da, tek oni nista ne znaju
[8:07:58 PM] SC_User: pa ne bih rekla da utice, vec da je kao neka pomocna sprava,
zblizava me domovini, odrzavam jezik, nema neki uticaj
[8:08:43 PM] Novi Covek: a to sticanej novih kontakata?
[8:09:17 PM] SC_User: to ne vise, otkako sam odosla ovde radim, pa nemam vremena, sad
je fejsbuk preuzeo tu stranu
[8:09:47 PM] Novi Covek: da li mozes da kazes za sebe da si koristila sc da bi sreal nove
ljude u zivotu?
[8:10:02 PM] SC_User: ne
[8:10:42 PM] Novi Covek: e ok, hval ti za sve ovo.
(12)
[6:28:28 PM] Novi Covek: aha ok
[6:28:30 PM] Novi Covek: onda cemo sad
[6:28:42 PM] SC_user: kako ti kazes
[6:29:58 PM] Novi Covek: cek samo da najdem tvoje pismo
[6:30:01 PM] Novi Covek: ali nesto mi ne radi
[6:30:15 PM] SC_user: hoces ponovo da ti posaljem
[6:30:27 PM] Novi Covek: ne ne
[6:30:43 PM] Novi Covek: samo mi ponovo broj godina, nacionalnost, mesto stanovanja i broj
godina obrazovanja
[6:30:46 PM] Novi Covek: molim te
[6:31:43 PM] SC_user: 33, srbin, beograd, visa skola
[6:32:06 PM] Novi Covek: kako si pronasao serbian cafe? kako ej doslo do toga da ga
koristis?
[6:33:18 PM] SC_user: koristio ga je ortak koji je gastos(izvini na izrazu) i koja mi je pricao da
ima svacega
[6:33:36 PM] Novi Covek: ma ok gastos je sasvim cool izraz
[6:33:48 PM] Novi Covek: a zasto ti koristis Serbina cafe? iz kojih motiva?
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[6:35:30 PM] SC_user: da se svadjam kao covek, da to ne moram da radim sa ukucanima i
prijateljima.da kazem ili naopisem nesto sto ce procitati veci broj ljudi od onih koji su u mojoj
okolini,da sa ljudima koji imaju manje vise ista interesoavnja podleim misljenje...
[6:35:57 PM] Novi Covek: zanimljivo?
[6:36:01 PM] SC_user: izvini na pravopisnim greskama trudim se da brzo kucam ali mi
ocigledno ne ide
[6:36:08 PM] Novi Covek: sve je oke
[6:36:29 PM] Novi Covek: znaci samo zbog toga da pricas sa vecim rbojem ljudi i da na miru
pricas
[6:36:45 PM] Novi Covek: i koje diskusije citas? kojim diskusijama doprinosis?
[6:36:50 PM] Novi Covek: sa kim se svadjas ;)
[6:37:35 PM] SC_user: pazi mnogo mi je gruba ta tvoja recenica da pricam sa vecim brojem
ljudi, krenucu od tvog pitanja poslednjeg pa cu uspeti mozda malo vise da ti p[ojasnim taj
motiv
[6:37:51 PM] Novi Covek: ok, izvini niam htela da bude grubo
[6:39:39 PM] SC_user: grubo u smislu da su strogo postavljene granice u tvom pitanju , a
one tu ne mogu da budu tako krute nisam milio da si gruba...citam i ucestvujem u navijacima,
srbija, beograd, amerika, new york, volim da se svadjam na politici, a cesto citam mada retko
ucestvujem u braku i porodici a u tehnici i filmovima iskljucivo postavljam firektna pitanja na
koje trazim odgovore tipa koji tel da kupim, koji film da gledam
[6:40:15 PM] SC_user: obozavam da se svadjam na politici
[6:40:18 PM] Novi Covek: zanimljivo! znaci neka razmena misljenja?
[6:42:17 PM] SC_user: pa ja kapiram da tamo ima malo diskusija sa kvalitetnim razmenama
misljenja.moje iskustvo mi kaze da su najbolje diskusije one koje su strogo fokusirane na
odredjen stvari tipa avijacija. svuda je manje ili vise utemeljeno pravilo ovako ja mislim i to je
ispravno, ali ako se nadje neko noramalan onda ta diskusija moze da bude kako ti kazes i
razmena misljenja
[6:42:40 PM] SC_user: kvalitetna razmena misljenja
[6:43:04 PM] Novi Covek: a otkud znas da ce n apoltici biti svadja? i sto ti je zanimljivo da se
svadjas sa gastosima?
[6:47:13 PM] SC_user: da li su top moje predrasude ne znam , ali proscnog diskutanta sa
politike zamisljam ovako-emigrirao polovinom 90-tih. ispustio mladost ovde, ispustio zivot
tamo, besan zbog toga, zapad mu je kriv za sve, srbi su nebeski narod i treba da se ratuje da
bi vratio sve sto mu je oteto ajde da ratujemo ali da ja ostanem u inostranstvu i da navijam. u
srbiji je sada gore nego pod slobom za to su iskljucivo krivi oni koji su dosli na vlast posle
slobe, pod slobom se bolje zivelo. ja volim srbiju i sve sto je srpsko , ali nosim najk umesto
borova i vozim renoa umesto juga u srbiju dodjem jednom godisnje na deset dana.
[6:48:17 PM] Novi Covek: haha ok
[6:48:29 PM] SC_user: i onda takav tip krene da ti prica sta i kako treba da se radi i kako
muceni amerikanac, englez francuz savija kicmu i nema za hleba a mi sa prosecnom platom
imamo za zimovanje i letovanje
[6:48:38 PM] SC_user: bas sam se naim gregom svadjao na tu temu
[6:48:49 PM] Novi Covek: ah greg je poseban
[6:49:00 PM] Novi Covek: zanimljivo ti je to
[6:49:02 PM] Novi Covek: tvoje
[6:49:17 PM] Novi Covek: kome se obracas na serbina cafeu?
[6:49:29 PM] SC_user: svetu
[6:49:50 PM] SC_user: da prosirim
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[6:50:24 PM] Novi Covek: celom svetu?
[6:50:28 PM] Novi Covek: sc svetu?
[6:51:06 PM] SC_user: onima koji razumeju i umeju da saslusaju i nesto pametno kazu ,
odgovore...
[6:51:19 PM] SC_user: nikome precizno
[6:51:37 PM] Novi Covek: a kakve infomracije mozes da nadjes na sc?
[6:54:31 PM] SC_user: vidi uglavnom na svakonkretna pitanja koja sam postavljao sam
dobijao dobre i kvalitetne odgovore tako da bi odgovor na tvoje pitanje glasio sve ono sto
sam trazio sam nasao.nalazio sam sve sto me je interesovalo, ali svakako da mozes da
nadjes i svakojake gluposti
[6:55:45 PM] Novi Covek: a sta je tebe zanimalo? za sta je tebi bilo korisno?
[6:56:42 PM] SC_user: da li mislis da li su mi te informacije donosila neke predosnti u zivotu
ili bas hoces da znas sta sam sve konkretno trazio na sc
[6:57:34 PM] Novi Covek: pa kad kazes da si se savetovao za kupovinu telefona, ili nesto za
komp? jel to bilo neko interesovanje u kome ti je SC bio do koristi?
[6:57:51 PM] Novi Covek: a i ako si saznao nesto sto ti je bila predsnost, to bi bilo jako
zanimljivo
[7:02:44 PM] SC_user: info koje su mi bile prdnosti sam nalazio na strani humora gde sam
nalazio extra dobre viceve koje sam, posle prepicavao u drustvu ibio glavna faca 8-). takve
informacije mi nisu bile prednost, ali dobre savete sam dobijao kada su bili u pitanju kvarovi
racunara, automobila. dobre su informacije bile bas kod kupovinwe automobila da se payim
odredjenog motora, na sta preciyno da obratim paznju kod kupovine bas tih kola itd.odlicne
su informacije u vezi filmova koje treba pogledati jer su u pitanju filmovi koji su vise
underground. ima mnogo stvari gde je sc bio od koristi. cak i primena odredjenog metoda
treninga koji eto i dan danas koristim a nasao sam na sc uvod i pocetak ali i putokaz za dalje
[7:03:49 PM] Novi Covek: bas zanimljvo moram ti reci
[7:04:15 PM] Novi Covek: da li si ostvario neka nova poznanstva na sc zahvaljujci tvojoj
aktivnosti na disusijama SC?
[7:04:23 PM] SC_user: ne
[7:05:31 PM] SC_user: misl;im ti si prva sa kojom kontaktiram posle kontakta na sc
[7:06:34 PM] Novi Covek: a kako bi okraraketrisao da tvoje online aktvnost na serbina cafeu
utice na tvoj zivot?
[7:07:48 PM] SC_user: sem onih viceva gore nesto i ne utice.
[7:08:14 PM] Novi Covek: ne koristis s da bi sreo neke nove ljude u stvarnom zivotu?
[7:08:23 PM] Novi Covek: nije ti se desilo da te neko na nekoga uputio i tako to
[7:08:46 PM] SC_user: ne.nisam u tom fazonu
[7:09:19 PM] Novi Covek: e pa hvala puno cane
[7:09:26 PM] Novi Covek: ti si bio pravo iznenadjenje
[7:09:36 PM] Novi Covek: da se ne spremas mozda za selidbu van srbije?
[7:09:37 PM] SC_user: iz kog razloga iznenadjenje
[7:09:53 PM] Novi Covek: pa nisam jos upoznala nikoga iz ovih intervjua koji na takav nacin
koristi sc
[7:11:28 PM] SC_user: van srbije za seda necu , mada kako je ovde krenulo nikad se ne zna.
drago mi je ako sam ti pomogao.kada ocekujes da zavsris istrazivanje
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Interviews – The Local
[12:12:42 PM] TL_User: now is great
[12:13:36 PM] Novi Covek: could you please tell me how you discovered The Local? how
come you are using it?
[12:14:33 PM] TL_User: i was searching for jobs online so typed in english speaking jobs
sweden and it came up
[12:14:57 PM] TL_User: i use it now mostly for the news rather than the jobs and also the
property section
[12:15:28 PM] Novi Covek: How do you use discussion section? for what purpose?
[12:16:00 PM] TL_User: i read about things i am interested in sometimes, visa advice or life
in sweden i dont post very often tho
[12:16:14 PM] Novi Covek: why?
[12:16:42 PM] TL_User: i dont have much to say because i have only lived in sweden for a
short while
[12:16:53 PM] Novi Covek:
What do you expect from your activity on The Local?
[12:17:50 PM] TL_User: not very much, i would like to find a house to buy from the property
section, i would like to get some more information on life in sweden from the discussion
section
[12:18:37 PM] Novi Covek: To whom you are addressing in The Local community? What kind
of information you can find on The Local?
[12:19:56 PM] TL_User: i am addressng a variety of people hopefully who have experiences
of life in sweden and I have found out some information about swedish clases and what to
expect in winter and where to buy spray on deoderant
[12:20:14 PM] Novi Covek: hahaha
[12:20:40 PM] Novi Covek: Can you name some more useful- practical information that you
can find on TL discussions?
[12:21:25 PM] TL_User: mostly it would be about swedish lessons, the format of them and
when they start,
[12:21:54 PM] Novi Covek: and what about life in sweden, regulations, realestate etc?
[12:22:16 PM] TL_User: mostly i have asked my boyfriend info like that as he is swedish
[12:22:38 PM] Novi Covek: Do you trust information (informants) you get in The Local
community?
[12:23:07 PM] TL_User: yes,
[12:24:09 PM] Novi Covek: Do you use TL discussions, interaction with other TL usars, to be
informed of Sweden?
[12:24:32 PM] TL_User: yes
[12:24:57 PM] Novi Covek: except deodorant, what kind of information you found very
useful?
[12:26:11 PM] TL_User: i found it usefull to know that you start at different levels in swedish
language classes
[12:26:28 PM] Novi Covek: ok thanks
[12:26:38 PM] Novi Covek: Did you meet new people online thanks to the interaction on The
Local?
[12:27:30 PM] TL_User: yes i met 1 new person
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[12:27:54 PM] Novi Covek: was that person outside of your circle of friends?
[12:28:31 PM] Novi Covek: woudl you say that contact is importnat to you? from any
perspective..
[12:29:00 PM] TL_User: yes it is nice to have an english speaking friend in a simalar situation
[12:29:12 PM] Novi Covek: yes, I woudl agree too
[12:29:15 PM] Novi Covek: to
[12:29:45 PM] Novi Covek: have you met this person in your real life, or the contact is just
"virtual"?
[12:30:03 PM] TL_User: i have met them in real life
[12:30:12 PM] Novi Covek: them? its not 1 person only?
[12:30:39 PM] TL_User: yes it is 1 person
[12:30:52 PM] Novi Covek: ok, than its me. I got it wrong
[12:31:07 PM] Novi Covek: how did you meet that person? what did you do?
[12:31:24 PM] TL_User: we went for coffee
[12:31:42 PM] Novi Covek: but how you arranged your meeting? over the Local? or..?
[12:31:52 PM] TL_User: on facebook
[12:32:11 PM] Novi Covek: aha, afetr you met on TL you moved your conact to Facebook?
[12:32:40 PM] Novi Covek: what woudl you say, how your online activities in The Local
influence your real life?
[12:32:49 PM] Novi Covek: is there any influence?
[12:33:00 PM] TL_User: no not very much
[12:34:09 PM] Novi Covek: you do not think that finding person to talk to in our new country
of residnce was big influence?
[12:35:18 PM] TL_User: it depends what big is, i met my boyfriend online and that was a big
influence, but it have been a nice thing in my real life but not life changing
[12:35:25 PM] TL_User: the local
[12:35:36 PM] TL_User: not my boyfriednd i would say that is big
[12:35:46 PM] Novi Covek: yes mee too
[12:36:01 PM] Novi Covek: Do you use The Local to meet new people in real life?
[12:36:10 PM] TL_User: occasionally
[12:36:28 PM] Novi Covek: what deos that mean? can you elaborate this a little bit?
[12:36:35 PM] TL_User: i did 1 time
[12:36:48 PM] Novi Covek: do you think you might do it again?
[12:37:08 PM] TL_User: maybe
[12:37:22 PM] Novi Covek: ok, amy thank you very much for being so kind to talk to me
[12:37:34 PM] TL_User: you are welcome
[12:37:42 PM] Novi Covek: I just forget to ask you for your age, nationality, residence, and
education
[12:37:50 PM] Novi Covek: please if you can just add this
[12:37:52 PM] Novi Covek: and we are done
[12:38:38 PM] TL_User: i am 26 , british, i am applying for resedency based on my
relationship and i am educated to degree level
[12:38:50 PM] Novi Covek: where do you live now?
[12:38:54 PM] TL_User: sweden
[12:39:08 PM] Novi Covek: yes, I know but can you tell me the city
[12:39:21 PM] TL_User: stockholm
308
[12:39:26 PM] Novi Covek: ok. thank you very much
[12:39:31 PM] Novi Covek: you helped me a lot.
[12:39:37 PM] TL_User: have a nice day
[12:39:46 PM] Novi Covek: if you know some toher users of tl willing to talk to me please let
me know
[12:39:51 PM] Novi Covek: Have a nice day
[12:39:54 PM] Novi Covek: (F)
(2)
[9:14:31 AM] Novi Covek: hello An, just to tel you hello and thank you for accepting the chat
[9:14:49 AM] Novi Covek: I am online and when you think it coudl suit you we can try it
[9:14:54 AM] Novi Covek: :)
[9:36:07 AM] TL_User: Hi jasmine
[9:36:19 AM] TL_User: if you don't mind chat messaging
[9:36:27 AM] TL_User: that is fine with me
[9:36:53 AM] TL_User: my sound doesn't work
[9:37:12 AM] Novi Covek: yes, this is exactly what I had in mind
[9:37:15 AM] Novi Covek: :)
[9:37:25 AM] TL_User: perfect let's go
[9:37:50 AM] Novi Covek: give me just 3 min
[9:37:59 AM] TL_User: ok
[9:39:12 AM] Novi Covek: here I am
[9:39:53 AM] TL_User: start away in that case
[9:40:45 AM] Novi Covek: if you do not mind I woudl love to ask you about your age,
nationality, place of residence, and education (years in school)
[9:41:04 AM] TL_User: don't mind at all
[9:41:20 AM] TL_User: 39 female from Belgium
[9:41:24 AM] Novi Covek: thanks
[9:41:36 AM] TL_User: studied up to MBA level
[9:41:56 AM] TL_User: and have contemplated phd but not started
[9:42:08 AM] Novi Covek: thank you very much.
[9:42:16 AM] TL_User: i am in my 4th temporary accomodation
[9:42:22 AM] Novi Covek: 4th??
[9:42:32 AM] TL_User: it's a converted garage in Djursholm
[9:42:52 AM] Novi Covek: mm sounds interesting
[9:43:10 AM] TL_User: so far no joy in even getting viewings through what i see a totally
dysfunctional system here
[9:43:45 AM] Novi Covek: yes? what specifically?
[9:43:54 AM] TL_User: for an apartment nearer to the city with a minimum tenancy
agreement of a year
[9:44:28 AM] TL_User: well the fact that you can only apply online and hope to receive an
answer, which if you write in English you never or very rarely get
[9:44:50 AM] TL_User: i have appliead for close to 500 appartments and have received less
than 10 replies
[9:44:50 AM] Novi Covek: oh that is true
[9:45:07 AM] TL_User: then the government not allowing people to rent out for longer than 2
years
[9:45:19 AM] Novi Covek: yeah that is also too bad
[9:45:20 AM] TL_User: which makes the demand supply curve never match as such
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[9:45:40 AM] TL_User: but nobody seems to care too much to get their government to
change it
[9:46:33 AM] TL_User: i work for MTG and most of my Swedish colleagues didn't understand
my frustration because for them it's normal
[9:47:41 AM] Novi Covek: what si MTG?
[9:48:18 AM] TL_User: Modern Times Group, the company behind Viasat television channels
and radio
[9:48:23 AM] TL_User: www.mtg.se
[9:48:30 AM] Novi Covek: thanks
[9:48:36 AM] TL_User: pretty big player in the media world
[9:49:02 AM] Novi Covek: yes!! I see
[9:49:09 AM] Novi Covek: congratulations
[9:49:20 AM] Novi Covek: tell me how you discovered The Local?
[9:49:25 AM] Novi Covek: how come you are using it?
[9:49:45 AM] TL_User: my boss, who is American sent me the link
[9:50:08 AM] Novi Covek: why, for what purpose?
[9:50:11 AM] TL_User: I like to know the local news but without swedish that wasn't possible
[9:50:59 AM] TL_User: so to be able to understand what colleagues in the office were talking
about i check in on it every day
[9:51:16 AM] TL_User: as well as my local newspaper from ireland
[9:51:50 AM] TL_User: i did join the discussion forum once or twice when i felt i had a
meaningful contribution to make
[9:52:22 AM] TL_User: i check ou the noticeboard for things i might want to buy cheaper than
normal
[9:53:00 AM] Novi Covek: so you are using it for reading news and for forums + noticeborads
[9:53:03 AM] TL_User: the forum on the local does have some nasty characters on from time
to time which is pretty disturbing
[9:53:13 AM] Novi Covek: tell me more about it
[9:53:14 AM] TL_User: yes I am
[9:53:34 AM] Novi Covek: frist what was the motivation to use forums/discussions
[9:54:31 AM] TL_User: to make conversation I guess because after only 2 months here i
don't have many people i could call friends
[9:54:51 AM] TL_User: so the discussions i only enter when i have something meaningful to
add
[9:55:01 AM] TL_User: or the original question seems to be genuine
[9:55:22 AM] Novi Covek: what do you expect from your interaction on the local discussions?
[9:55:22 AM] TL_User: for example and irish guy asked for advice on salary and housing etc
[9:55:28 AM] Novi Covek: yes?
[9:56:22 AM] TL_User: and having just moved here from ireland i gave my advice and then
some nasty character joined the discussion and started criticising irish people and became
vry offensive
[9:56:41 AM] TL_User: what do expect from a discussion that it is respectful and informative
[9:56:42 AM] Novi Covek: n
[9:56:44 AM] Novi Covek: hm
[9:57:05 AM] Novi Covek: that was not very nice m?
[9:57:17 AM] TL_User: no it wasn't
[9:57:25 AM] TL_User: nor what i expected
[9:57:33 AM] Novi Covek: what did you expect?
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[9:57:43 AM] TL_User: i was actually shocked there was no moderator cutting out this kind of
behaviour
[9:57:51 AM] Novi Covek: and how you reacted on that? what was the reaction of other
people
[9:58:10 AM] TL_User: i would have blocked the guy from th forum
[9:58:26 AM] TL_User: i withdrew from the discussion and kept an eye on it all the same
[9:58:28 AM] Novi Covek: hm, yes thats strange
[9:58:37 AM] TL_User: but quite a few people reacted against it
[9:58:46 AM] Novi Covek: so to whom you are addressing on the lolac disussions?
[9:58:55 AM] TL_User: which then lost the whole point of the original question
[9:59:25 AM] TL_User: whichever the original writer is, that is who i think i address
[9:59:37 AM] TL_User: in the end of the day every entry has a person behind it
[9:59:46 AM] TL_User: whether we know thm personally or not
[9:59:53 AM] Novi Covek: yes I understand
[10:00:10 AM] Novi Covek: so that means you are not posting questions? you read posted
and than contribute?
[10:00:30 AM] TL_User: yes so far i haven't posted a question
[10:01:00 AM] Novi Covek: did you manage to give advice to the guy from Irland?
[10:01:11 AM] TL_User: probably because when goign through the history of the forum
questions, none of mine or similar ones to the questions i might have got answered really
[10:01:27 AM] TL_User: yes did give advice to the guy from ireland
[10:01:59 AM] TL_User: i did post questions on the meetup group site for stockholm
[10:02:12 AM] Novi Covek: with what intention?
[10:02:33 AM] Novi Covek: and what kind of group is that?
[10:02:45 AM] TL_User: well it was advice on finding an appartment so really to find help on
how to go about it
[10:02:53 AM] Novi Covek: and?
[10:02:54 AM] TL_User: but i got no answers there at all
[10:03:18 AM] TL_User: and maybe that is also what stopped me from poting the same
question on the local
[10:03:35 AM] Novi Covek: aha, what kidn of group is that? what do they do?
[10:03:45 AM] TL_User: because from what i could read, nobody seemed to have the answer
and most foreigners are in teh same boat
[10:04:09 AM] TL_User: stockholm meetup is an online group of people in stockholm that
want to meet up in person
[10:04:29 AM] TL_User: so once per fortnight there is a drinks invite
[10:04:40 AM] TL_User: then sometimes a movie or museum trip
[10:04:49 AM] Novi Covek: did you meet new people online thank to this group?
[10:05:01 AM] TL_User: which is really great because you can choose which to attend
[10:05:08 AM] TL_User: online no but in person yes
[10:05:10 AM] Novi Covek: you attended some
[10:05:22 AM] TL_User: yes went oone drinks evening
[10:05:28 AM] Novi Covek: ah, so you met someone in person
[10:05:34 AM] TL_User: and haven't made it back
[10:05:40 AM] Novi Covek: why?
[10:06:11 AM] TL_User: thanks to my work schedule and once because i couldn't find the
place and gave up after an hour of wandering the streets
[10:06:18 AM] Novi Covek: hahaha
311
[10:06:25 AM] TL_User: happens a lot
[10:06:27 AM] Novi Covek: well, that was a bad place
[10:06:30 AM] Novi Covek: yes?
[10:06:58 AM] Novi Covek: how you identified that meet-up group?
[10:07:01 AM] TL_User: well not really i foudn out the next day i had got off on the wrong
tube stop and was veruy far away from it
[10:07:11 AM] Novi Covek: I see
[10:07:49 AM] TL_User: i think i just found them randomly by doing a google search for
meeting new people in stockholm
[10:07:59 AM] TL_User: i don't think that came recommended
[10:08:12 AM] Novi Covek: ok. and did you manage to make some important contact?
[10:08:16 AM] Novi Covek: in any sense
[10:08:27 AM] TL_User: i spend a serious amount of time online to keep in touch with friends
at home
[10:08:38 AM] Novi Covek: using the same website?
[10:09:00 AM] TL_User: met some interesting people and had interesting conversations but
didn't meet them again
[10:09:07 AM] Novi Covek: why?
[10:09:14 AM] TL_User: mainly skype and facebook for my friends back home
[10:09:25 AM] TL_User: no real reason why
[10:09:31 AM] TL_User: just left it a bit open
[10:09:55 AM] TL_User: and if it is meant to be a good friendship then it will come back and
paths will cross again
[10:10:22 AM] Novi Covek: Do you use The local discussions or meet up groups to meet new
people in your real life?
[10:10:32 AM] TL_User: i haven't so far
[10:10:59 AM] TL_User: and given that there seems to be a lot of hate discussion going on
on the local i would be reluctant to do so
[10:11:09 AM] TL_User: the meet up group yes
[10:11:13 AM] Novi Covek: but you went out once thank to their meet up group?
[10:11:19 AM] Novi Covek: ah es, now I see
[10:11:41 AM] Novi Covek: ok. tell me please, what kind of information you can find on the
local disussions?
[10:12:26 AM] TL_User: sometimes really randon things like yesterday some guy entered
something about internet trolls
[10:12:38 AM] TL_User: which is unusual so i went and had a look at it
[10:12:52 AM] Novi Covek: do you use it to be infomred about Sweden?
[10:13:15 AM] TL_User: then some regular questions and topics that could be of interest
aroudn housing, drivign, and things concerning foreigners in sweden
[10:13:32 AM] TL_User: yes but probably from foreigners point of view
[10:13:33 AM] Novi Covek: what kind of topics for foreigners?
[10:14:07 AM] TL_User: the cutlural mishaps or differences
[10:14:17 AM] TL_User: like the 'but this is Swden stuff
[10:14:33 AM] TL_User: information about how other people have adapted or are struggling
[10:14:57 AM] Novi Covek: do you finf these inromation are useful?
[10:15:02 AM] Novi Covek: find
[10:15:06 AM] TL_User: and that to me is of value because sometimes you think you are the
only one going through this stuf and yet a whole bunch of other people apparently are too
312
[10:15:17 AM] TL_User: yes sometimes the info is useful
[10:15:33 AM] Novi Covek: can you recall some usful tips you got there?
[10:15:58 AM] TL_User: i think more from the point of view of understanding that it isn't you
that they have a dislike against but just the way the swedish system works
[10:16:14 AM] TL_User: something about dealing with the bank i foudn useful a good few
weeks ago
[10:16:48 AM] TL_User: i was going through a whole load of frustration trying to open a bank
account and then read others were having similar problems and how to get around it
[10:17:17 AM] TL_User: equally i am now exploring buying instead of renting and there is a
whole selection of articles etc on the topic
[10:17:38 AM] TL_User: i read some fo the blog posts as well which are often an amusing
take on things here
[10:18:09 AM] TL_User: i find at times my Swedish colleagues can be so serious and so
super non-emotional so to read an emotional take on stuff can be good
[10:18:12 AM] Novi Covek: do you trust infomration you get in The Local discussions
[10:18:32 AM] TL_User: if it seems to be a balanced view yes
[10:18:45 AM] Novi Covek: how do you make an estimation?
[10:19:01 AM] Novi Covek: what does "balanced" mean ??
[10:19:25 AM] TL_User: if it fits with what i had heard in other places
[10:20:29 AM] TL_User: so that it doesn't seem like someone with a particular reason behind
it is promoting their pitch or point of view
[10:20:58 AM] Novi Covek: so is it useful what they say on the local or not?
[10:21:04 AM] Novi Covek: what si your perception?
[10:21:08 AM] TL_User: yes it is
[10:21:30 AM] TL_User: from an information about sweden point of view it is useful
[10:21:40 AM] TL_User: and keeping up to date with news
[10:21:53 AM] TL_User: hints and tips for living i find useful
[10:21:56 AM] Novi Covek: news where?
[10:22:06 AM] TL_User: news in sweden
[10:22:10 AM] Novi Covek: yeah
[10:22:28 AM] TL_User: they don't cover international news
[10:22:41 AM] Novi Covek: can you tell me how do you see your online activity on the Local
influence your real life?
[10:23:34 AM] TL_User: i guess it woudl give me insight into some of the thigns that are
considered normal here and with that in mind I tend to be calmer about things in real life
[10:24:23 AM] TL_User: but really changing thanks to the local maybe not
[10:24:56 AM] TL_User: it makes you feel part of a segment of swedish society namely the
expat one
[10:25:11 AM] Novi Covek: expat?
[10:25:28 AM] Novi Covek: the local brings you closer to expats?
[10:25:32 AM] TL_User: people living away from original country
[10:26:14 AM] Novi Covek: yes I know the term, I was just wondering do you find the local
responsible to being part of that group up to some extent
[10:27:04 AM] TL_User: yes because the news, forum and discussions are aimed at
primarluly english speakers, which tend to be expats and that you can very obviously see in
teh forum and discussions
[10:27:12 AM] TL_User: so yes absolutely
313
[10:27:45 AM] TL_User: it makes me feel as if i am at least part of a community where i do
have other people going through similar challenges
[10:28:05 AM] TL_User: because the questions, news and blogs often focus in those things
(3)
- How did you find The Local?
I discovered The Local thru a really funny article to do with the difference between Swedes
and Anglos that someone emailed me. It was very insightful and because it made me
laugh I started to log on and read it regularly. I also started to use it as an online
resource for my English Language students. I used it as a resource to set reading tasks
as it was rich in vocab as well as cultural content.
-
How come you are using it?
I got more involved with the local for personal use when I discovered the “discuss” feature. I
discovered that there were a lot of people out there who were going thru the same
adjustments of living in a foreign culture as I had experienced. I became intrigued and it
functioned for me as an interesting cyber community.
-
How do you use The Local? (for what purpose)
I use it for a sense of belonging in a culture where it is often very hard to meet people and
because living in a foreign culture the thing one misses most of all is familiarity and
friends who understand. I also use it to keep in touch with my life in Sweden when I am
not there. It‟s actually a bit addictive.
*** how do you achieve “a sense of belonging” in a new culture by using TL discussions?
What I mean by a sense of belonging is the notion in a purely cerebral sense of being part of
a cyber community where others are experiencing the same kinds of things that I do.
These things - mostly cultural differences - are expressed and articulated and therefore
gives a sense of “belonging” is a sense of not being “alone” with ones cross cultural
experience.
To put it simply – the belonging comes from common experiences.
-
Why do you use The Local?
Sometimes the posts are seriously funny and make me laugh. The posters often have the
same kind of cultural background and sense of humour as me.. It makes me laugh
hilariously at times and on needs that especially in what is essentially a very
conservative and serious society. The posts also provoke anger at times and the
possibility to shoot some opinions down in flames from behind the safety of a nick. Also
it gives an opportunity to contribute and encourage and interact in a positive way with
others..
*** What is interaction in a positive way with others? What do you mean by that? What
happens in that kind of interaction?
314
I trust some. I check up on information to see if it sounds like they know what they are talking
about.
After a few months or a year one gets to regard or “know” a few posters because of what
they reveal about themselves, their opinions on issues , humour,
Responding to these posters on a particular thread sometimes leads to a dialogue and bantr
that is almost like flirting . One can feel a connection. This is what I consider a positive
interaction – Once again it‟s the feeling of “I am not alone” It‟s not just ME that sees
things this way – there are others out there” Also it‟s often a battle of wits which is very
stimulating intellectually.
. For me it is a one dimensional relationship almost like having a pen pal but with usually
total anonymity so you get to know a persona rather than a person. Also some posters
have multiple nicks – (personae)
-
What do you expect from your activity on The Local?
Absolutely nothing
-
To whom you are addressing in The Local community?
Other expats or whoever has the same experience of living in more than one culture and
using more than one language. Native Swedes who know what it‟s like to be an expat.
-
What kind of information you can find on The Local?
The Local as a news source is limited to translated stories from other sources,. I don‟t use
the Local for news. I read the odd blog but I mostly use the discussion forum where the
information varies a lo but can be most useful for practical things like getting a drivers
licence etc..
*** Can you name more useful, practical information that you can find on TL discussions?
Information about cultural norms from expats who have lived here long term is useful. For
example I found out that is frowned upon to drink alcohol during the week. This clarified
to me why I got bad vibes off neighbors in my building after I had invited them in on a
week night and offered alcohol with the food. I found out from other posters the hat is
totally acceptable on Sat. is taboo on Wednesday!
Another example is if you do land a job it is VERY important to attend all coffee breaks which
are quite formal and organized. It is actually more important than the work you do as
social interaction is
Other practical information that one can find is simply how to deal with the bureaucracy in
_Sweden which is quite complex
-
Do you trust information (informants) you get in The Local community?
315
Some more than others. One gets to know them after a couple of years of reading their
posts. But just about everything except for a couple of posters who only deal in facts, is
subjective and anecdotal
Do you use WC to be informed of Sweden?
WC ??? whats that ??? If it‟s a typo and you mean TL the answer is YES to some degree..
*** Sorry TL. To what degree, can you elaborate that? How? For what purpose?
-
Did you meet new people online thanks to the interaction on The Local?
No. But then I am not interested in meeting people in 3D. The Local for me fulfills the
function of giving a sense of belonging or rather of not being alone in the expat
experience.
I like the anonymity. I also like the intellectual engagement and banter that goes on between
folk. It‟s like a cyber pub where you go to hang out and comment on the world without
having to commit to other people. Its an exchange of opinions and views without any
expectations. It‟s a matching of wits and a lot of intellectual posturing as well. It is often
hilarious which is what keeps me coming back constantly to read it.
-
Did you make important contacts online, outside of your circle of connoisseurs, thanks to
activity in The Local community?
Connoisseurs ? Have no idea what you mean by that word in this context ? Anyhow the
answer is NO. I have not made important contacts and have no desire to.
***outside of your circle of friends, acquaintances..
-
How your online activities in The Local influence your real life?
It‟s possible that TL has contributed to me feeling more negative about my experience of life
in Sweden as an expat as it has highlighted a lot of things that people have articulated
that I just ignored before and didn‟t dwell on. It causes one to think about negatives
more. Expats use the Local to vent their frustrations a lot. But at the same time it gives
an insight into what others have to go through which is fascinating and often comment
worthy.
-
Do you use The Local to meet new people in real life?
No although I could if I attended the meet ups that are arranged for people who want to do
that. I would be curious to meet some characters who have captured my imagination but
I wouldn‟t want to spoil my perceptions of them by meeting them in real life and finding
that they are completely different to how I imagined.
But having said that its probably also because I am not as motivated to meet new people
and invest in building new relationships because I am not “condemned” to living in
316
Sweden for the rest of my life. I actually enjoy having a contemplative time when I live
in –Sweden. My life is busy enough in Sweden without a big social life. I feel my
support base and strong friendships are in Australia and other parts of the world where
I‟ve lived over the years– Also I am of an age where a lot of acquaintances or a network
of people is of no interest any longer.
*** do you know someone who is attending the meet-ups? anyone who made some contacts
in a real life thanks to using TL discussions..
NO. I don‟t know anyone personally on the Local but I know from their posts that people do
make contacts in real life but I‟m not one of them. Also these meet ups seems to
happen more in Stockholm and I‟m on the west coast where it appears to be different for
whatever ´reason.
(4)
[6:46:01 PM] Novi Covek: ok we can start now
[6:46:07 PM] TL_User: perfect
[6:46:12 PM] Novi Covek: but maybe we will have interuptions, hopefully not
[6:46:21 PM] Novi Covek: just one moment please
[6:46:25 PM] TL_User: ok
[6:47:11 PM] Novi Covek: can you please tell me how did you find the local ? how come you
are using it?
[6:47:43 PM] TL_User: i find it in an italian forum about sweden
[6:48:09 PM] Novi Covek: some user of italina forum mentioned it?
[6:48:40 PM] TL_User: yes, this guys were giving informations about the advice side of the
website
[6:49:09 PM] Novi Covek: what did they say about it
[6:49:49 PM] TL_User: the local can give informations about rent and other useful thins on
sweden
[6:50:03 PM] Novi Covek: are you using it for that purpose?
[6:51:14 PM] TL_User: no, actually I use to read news, but not so frequnetly like before. Now
I can speak swedish and I try to read swedish newspapers
[6:51:47 PM] Novi Covek: o bravo!
[6:52:07 PM] Novi Covek: but when you started using it how you used it?
[6:52:22 PM] TL_User: reading advices and news
[6:52:50 PM] Novi Covek: what was your expectation from your activity on the local
discussions?
[6:54:43 PM] TL_User: to have more information, but i have to say that it is not a swedish
community and it can be only an immigrant's space, something that i think I am going to
leave
[6:55:12 PM] Novi Covek: why?
[6:56:50 PM] TL_User: it is a space seen from our eyes, I am not sure if the swedish people
use it but, for me, it is a kind of "first step"
[6:57:52 PM] Novi Covek: what do you mean when you say "its a space seen from our eyes"?
[6:57:53 PM] TL_User: after some time we need to get in the community..and in my personal
experience I need to look outside
[6:58:05 PM] TL_User: I mean
317
[6:59:01 PM] TL_User: it is a kind of "immigrants space", you can't see the swedish
community from there, but only our rappresentation
[6:59:10 PM] TL_User: I hope i said it better
[6:59:44 PM] Novi Covek: but you said you were using it to be more informed, to whome you
addressed on the local community for the infomration? and what kind fo infor you were trying
to find?
[7:00:03 PM] Novi Covek: of info* sorry
[7:01:30 PM] TL_User: everything related to the life in sweden
[7:01:41 PM] TL_User: rents, habits..
[7:01:47 PM] TL_User: and so on
[7:02:16 PM] Novi Covek: ok, thanks, and to whome you were addressing for the info?
anyone particular or..
[7:02:53 PM] TL_User: no one, just advices and news
[7:03:25 PM] Novi Covek: so you were reading what was already published or you were
posting questions?
[7:03:42 PM] TL_User: i posted only two questions
[7:04:02 PM] Novi Covek: do you trust information (infomrants) you get in the local
community
[7:05:24 PM] TL_User: I can say yes for the first question, no for the second, I think I have to
balance everytime
[7:06:17 PM] Novi Covek: what do you mean sorry, you do trust information but you do not
trust informants?
[7:07:35 PM] TL_User: no, I mean that I need to balance everytime if i can trust or not trust to
information
[7:07:46 PM] Novi Covek: ah, ok
[7:08:06 PM] Novi Covek: how do you mkae the balance? how do you know that info is
trustworthy?
[7:09:46 PM] TL_User: making other research..for ex. if people give me informations about
the best internet connection i uses to compare
[7:09:52 PM] TL_User: i use to compare
[7:10:03 PM] TL_User: them
[7:10:27 PM] TL_User: going on their website..ecc
[7:10:50 PM] Novi Covek: when you posted questions, in disussions, when you had
interactions with other TL users did you try fo be infomred of Sweden?
[7:11:02 PM] Novi Covek: to be*
[7:11:35 PM] Novi Covek: did you meet any new people thanks to the interaction on TL?
[7:11:43 PM] Novi Covek: any new online conntacts?
[7:12:03 PM] TL_User: never, i tried to get a contact but they never answered back
[7:12:12 PM] Novi Covek: never?
[7:12:17 PM] Novi Covek: that is very intersting
[7:12:31 PM] Novi Covek: so you didnt manage to make not even one contact?
[7:12:43 PM] TL_User: no
[7:12:50 PM] Novi Covek: why? what do you think?
[7:13:24 PM] TL_User: why?
[7:13:50 PM] Novi Covek: do you have any idea why they never answered you back?
[7:14:13 PM] Novi Covek: if they are immigrants all in the same situation like you...
318
[7:16:36 PM] TL_User: I think its because internet can create fast and easy contacts, it can
help to meet other people but I t can also make inconsistens relations
[7:16:50 PM] TL_User: you can contact everyone and disappear
[7:17:02 PM] Novi Covek: thats true
[7:17:12 PM] Novi Covek: where do you live now?
[7:17:17 PM] Novi Covek: stockholm?
[7:17:19 PM] TL_User: stockholm
(5)
2. How you discovered The Local?
Friend recommended it to me, the same one who initially invited me over
3. How come you are involved in The Local Discussions? Why you are taking part in
discussions? What's the purpose, motivation?
I started looking for job, as my friend found it on the Local
4. What do you expect from your interaction on The Local discussions?
Job, beer would be nice too
5. To whom you are addressing in The Local community?
Mainly to English-speaker, they tend to rule here
6. What kind of information you can find on The Local discussions?
Well that's quite difficult to answer , as I have seen even posts about cats and dogs favourite
breakfast
7. Do you trust information (informants) you get in The Local community? How do you make
the evaluation?
Depending on the issue, and usually there are quite few reasonable opposite claims, you just
pick one that suits you :-)
8. Do you use The Local to be informed of Sweden? (How? About what?)
Well.., I thought I have answered to that one earlier, since yes I try to get Job
9. Would you say that using The Local discussions is useful? If yes: What for? If no: Why?
I would say very, or you speak Swedish good enough that you can get it from other places
10. Did you meet new people online thanks to the interaction on The Local?
Sure I did, we have little gathering every now and then
11. Did you make important contacts online, outside of your circle of friends/acquaintances,
thanks to activity in The Local community?
Not yet, my friend did :-)
12. How your online activities in The Local influence, or influenced, your real life?
I am not sure I understand, but surely I had plenty information that helped...like where is the
doctor, and how do you get the card that allows you discount .....etc...
13. Do you use The Local to meet new people in real life? If yes, how? Do you know
someone who used The Local for that purpose?
Yes my friend (Irish as well) is happily living with one Swedish girl he met through LOCAL, I
was not that happy......... yet :-)
(6)
did a google search on Yahoo
319
interested in life in sweden and to give my opinions and to get people to listen to what i
have to say
to give information
people who will listen to my opinions and people who wont listen to my opinions on life in
Sweden
opinions on life in sweden
7. Do you trust information (informants) you get in The Local community? How do you
make the evaluation?
yes I nevr trust them unless they are right
yes, I never use TL unless the discussions are about my opinions on Sweden
no it is very useful for voicing opinions on life in sweden because it is a forum on life in
sweden that is not very useful
no i meet people that i did never interact with
yes, i interacted with people that i meet
i feel lik my opinions on life in sweden are being listened to by people who have a life in
sweden
yes i always never interact with online contacts and people i never met with
(7)
can't remember
because everyone needs interaction with others in the same circumstances ( expat)
an exchange of ideas and eperiences
other expats
information about how to go about things such as how the burocracy works, what is going
on socially with other expats, tips on how to survive the winter, travel tips, places worth
seeing.etc.
as much as yo trust any information from any source and the evaluation is made in the
same way. by research or gut feeling.
320
I already answered that in question 6
yes. because it can be amusing to hear others opinions and to have a forum to express
opinion and to debate issues.
yes - i have met people online - have exchanged ideas and PM's directly with them online but not in real life.
no
not at all. No
No and No this is a very garbled question but I understand that english is not your first
langauge
(8)
google
Bored.
A laugh, information.
Like minded people
Bureaucratric information.
Not really. I actually think there are some "official" people on here i.e. from other
governments, trying to swing political views of foreigners in Sweden.
No. It only provides tabloid stories and is gutter press.
Very little of the time. It should be useful but the core dynamic of the forum is very poor as
the same morons post to every thread and think they are the leaders of the free world.
yes
No,
Have friends to go to pub with.
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No
(9)
2. How you discovered The Local?7
GOOGLE
FIRSTLU WHEN I MOVED TO FALUN, I HAVE TRIED TO FIND SOME FRIENDS OR
CONTACTS NOT ON SWEDISH LANGUAGE
AFTER BEEING THERE FOR 2 YEARS , NOW I READ IT AS NEEWSPAPERS
MAINLY PEOPLE WITH SAME INTERESTS
HOW TO GET APARTMENT WHICH IS VERY DIFFICULT IN SWEDEN
I COMPARE IT TO THE OTHER SOURCES
ABOUT LAW, ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS, AND ABOUT THINGS OF INTEREST
VERY USEFULL SINCE THERE IS NOT MANY PLACES WHERE YOU WOULD GET
ANY INFORMATION(CURRENT) NOT ON SWEDISH
NOW I LIVE IN STOCKHOLM AND NOW I DID
I AM MORE AWARE OF THE GROUPS THAT HAVE SAME INTERESTS
I BOUGHT MY CAR THROUGH COINCIDENCE IN LOCAL
PLEANTY PEOPLE INCLUDING ME HAVE TRIED TO GET SOMEBODY AND MANAGED
TO GO OUT FOR DATE
(10)
Google search for ex-pat community websites
not involved in 'TheLocal' discussions at present - have been in the past because having
lived in a number of other countries, such website discussions have usually produced
friendships & valuable info Sweden, I have found, is a rather 'closed' secretive country in
terms of its people offering help and information, and it can be valuable to have another
source of finding things out
322
(See above) I also look for support from other 'expats' (from their comments) when you feel
'isolated' in another country.
Other English-speaking expats, who may be able to offer help and friendship
Info on Swedish affairs (tax, for example, price comparison websites)
No Info I personally have obtained has usually been untrustworthy and wrong. Have found
out by testing the information myself
To an extent - yes. But the news items about Sweden have seemed disjointed to me. You
read a news item one day, expecting some kind of follow up news - which never materialises.
No - there is a tendency for the same contributors to monopolise discussions - and be
somewhat intimidating if you express a contrary opinion. Have happily (& profitably) used
other expat websites in the other countries I've lived in - but have to say thelocal.se has
produced levels of misery I didn't think could exist!
No - judging by the tone and manner of some contributors, wouldn't want to meet them!
No
No influence whatever - except perhaps encouraged me to want to leave Sweden earlier
than I'd expected to
No
(11)
Through a friend who is also moved to sweden.
To help others, to get advice and at times to simply touch base with people who have a
similar culture and perspective of life as I do.
Depends upon the question, etc.
All types, just look and see.
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Again depends upon the topic. Political information - no. Information on how something in
sweden works, where I can get something, etc. -Yes. Basically if it is factual I believe, if it is
opinions oriented, it is exactly that.
Yes. Cultural differences, where I can find items I am looking for, how things work (ie.
buying a house/ apartment, paying rent in an apartment, getting a drivers license, etc.).
Yes. For day to day issues of integrating into the swedish culture many persons are helpful
and full of advice. It brings together people who are in the same situation (foreigners living in
sweden).
Yes, which has also gone offline. Pub nights, etc.
No
Just by getting a bit of advice. Also its given me different perspectives of things to think
about. If we are talking about the news on the local, it helps me to stay informed of whats
going on.
Yes, typically a pub night. I know others that join these as well.
(12)
By trolling the internet.
I have become involved in TL discussions to help clarify my ideas in matters that interest
me, have written articles about them often, and even posted them on TL on occasion.
Just improving my own and other people's understanding and knowledge.
Posters who are really interested in deep politics, and posters who are seeking local
information that I can provide.
Articles about things going on in Sweden, and beyond which either TL or others, including
myself, post.
I trust some of the information and informants I see on T, but too much of it in discussions
is suspect, and too many of them are essentially trolls, going on in a lark.
Yes, I do when they concern Swedish affairs, especially those that the site provides. They
are generally fairly reliable, cover a wide range of affairs, and are in a form that I can readily
absorb. As for international affairs, I heavily upon the internet and other more traditional
sources.
324
Yes, I gnerally find it helpful. It gives a big venue for ideas I develop, and hopefully
persuades at least a few posters to change their opinions about matters I consider myself to
be quite well informed about. And there are a lot of unhelpful opinions exposed in the
process, but that is only to be expected, given my aims.
I attended one drinks meet-up where I met a few posters, but I must say that I have little in
common with them, and doubt that I shall attend another. I have not met subsequently any of
those I met at the get-together.
No, I haven't but I suspect that a few people who have gotten in touch with me did so
because of my posts on TL, but I have not asked them if this is so.
It has helped continue my professional life, long after I retired from being a college
researcher and teacher. And given how old I am, and how active I have been, I consider this
to be a decided plus in my life.
No.
325
326
Summary
The thesis investigates the use of web communities by immigrants in their
acquisition of social capital. The immigration and social capital are put
together due to the positive effect that social capital has on immigrant
integration. The general idea of our research is to analyse the interaction of
two phenomena: (1) human migration, and (2) the IT revolution from the
perspective of social capital acquisition. Admitting that IT is too broad a
concept for the purpose of this study, we have decided to restrict our
research to web sites and web communities that serve the needs of
immigrants. Current research in the field of human interaction on the web
indicates that the web is not only changing how people communicate, it is
also changing with whom they communicate. The main goal of this study is to
investigate the above mentioned change, and has led us to the following
Problem Statement (PS).
PS: To what extent do immigrants acquire social capital by using web
communities?
To be able to answer our PS, we formulate three research questions (RQs)
presented in Chapter 1 and repeated here.
RQ1: What is the motivation behind the immigrants’ usage of the
web?
RQ2: Is the acquisition of social capital from immigrants in web
communities a tangible acquisition?
RQ3: What are the real-life effects for immigrants of their web
community activities?
We investigate two pathways of immigrant web communication: (1) bonding
social capital web communities – i.e., investigating a group of immigrants on
the web with the same origin background, and (2) bridging social capital web
communities – i.e., investigating a group of immigrants on the web with the
same country of residence.
Our research method is conducted by using three complementary methods of
analysis: (1) descriptive analysis; (2) good practice analysis; and (3)
interviews. To understand the various motivational factors for using the web,
in quantitative descriptive analysis we first identify web spaces in the field of
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immigration and then classify them. We continue the investigation of the two
most representative web spaces identified, by using a qualitative method of
good practice analysis. The investigation is carried out through a parallel
ethnographic interpretive approach. We study the ways in which users
interact on the web, and we analyse: (a) the content of that interaction; and
(b) the acquisition of social capital. Finally, we perform interviews with the
users of the two most representative web spaces in order to investigate
qualitatively: how users perceive their web community activities; and how
their online activities affect their lives offline.
In Chapter 2, we offer an overview of the existing literature on web
communities, immigration, and social capital. We discuss the transformation
of social interaction introduced by web communication, and the role that this
transformation has played in the social integration process of immigrants.
Furthermore, we introduce and discuss web communities and their
characteristics. From there we move on to analyse the immigrants‟ social
capital strategies on the web. The chapter closes with an insight into online
and offline synergies that have brought significant changes to the lives of
immigrants.
Chapter 3 deals with RQ1. It presents our analysis of the preferences and
online behaviours of the immigrants. In order to investigate web communities
among all the identified web spaces used by immigrants, we first define our
research field. In our study we have followed two different groups of
immigrants on the web. We have focussed (1) on a group of immigrants with
the same origin who are living worldwide - the case of Serbian diaspora; and
(2) on all immigrants who have made Sweden their host country. In order to
obtain more insights into the usage of the web by immigrants we employ the
following four methods with respect to our investigation of immigrant web
sites and web communities:
(a) identifying them;
(b) listing them;
(c) measuring them; and
(d) ranking them.
After identifying and listing them, we investigate them based on three factors:
location, classification, and technology. The classification is carried out by
examining categories at two levels: (1) establishment motivation – the main
motivation for running the specific web space; and (2) relationship orientation
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– the relationship with the users of identified web spaces (member–initiated,
organisation-sponsored, profit oriented, and non-profit oriented). Further, we
divide the observed set of web spaces with respect to the following two
variables: (a) ownership, and (b) main interest. Finally, in order to be able to
understand the importance of the dynamics created by the web spaces, the
collected set of web spaces is analysed with respect to two technological
features: reach and traffic. Further analysis and discussion of our results
provide answers to RQ1.
In Chapter 4, we deal with RQ2. We analysed the social capital acquisition
indicators which describe the life of users in web communities. We have
chosen the following five Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): (1) Community
building, (2) Community norms and values, (3) Community identity and
immigration issues, (4) Diffuse reciprocal activities, and (5) Community
engagement. To perform our analysis of the KPIs we established seven
criteria.
Criterium 1: Instances of in-group pronouns (such as “us” and ”we”).
Criterium 3: Instances of roles played in the community, e.g., experts,
information leaders; the roles that emerged are based
on trust.
Criterium 4: Instances of self-perception on being an immigrant.
Criterium 5: Instances of a discussion on emerging facets of
immigration.
Criterium 7: Instances of interactions concerning health, advice, and
fighting injustice.
The criteria are distributed as follows over the five KPIs.
KPI 1 – Community building: Criterium 1 and Criterium 2.
KPI 2 – Community norms and values: Criterium 3.
KPI 3 – Community identity and immigration issues: Criterium 4 and
Criterium 5.
KPI 4 – Diffuse reciprocal activities: Criterium 6.
KPI 5 – Community engagement: Criterium 7.
In this Chapter we offer conclusions on the KPIs as well as on the division
between bonding and bridging social capital activity. Finally we answer RQ2.
329
Chapter 5 deals with RQ3. It presents the analysis of users‟ perceptions of
their lives on the web. In order to analyse the real-life effects introduced to the
users thanks to their online activity, we perform semi-constructed,
synchronous online interviews. To be able to measure and compare the
effects, we use the same system of measurement as we employed in Chapter
4, namely the five KPIs. The interview questions were designed in such a way
as to offer the interviewees a chance to speak about the specific topic, and to
express their feelings (in line with the KPIs) in whichever way they find most
comfortable. A thorough analysis of the users‟ interviews enables us to
answer RQ3.
In Chapter 6, we offer a summary of our research process. Further, we offer
the conclusions and answers to the RQs.
Our answer to RQ1 reads as follows.
Web community interactive tools attract the greatest attention of users in the
field of immigration. Immigrants themselves use the web as their space of
expression, communication, and action. The immigrants‟ motivations for web
usage are directed at bonding social capital and bridging social capital,
simultaneously. The difference between bonding social capital on the web
and bridging social capital on the web is not identified, except in the field of
profit acquisition. This research has identified that bonding social capital web
spaces are more motivated by profit than are bridging social capital web
spaces.
The acquisition of social capital from immigrants in the web communities is a
tangible acquisition. As it emerges from the two immigrant web communities
which we have studied, the usage of both communities is motivated by the
acquisition of social capital.
We distinguish three offline effects of the web communities of immigrants:
(a) a living information centre,
(b) a communication space,
330
(c) a relationship-building tool.
Our discussion of all three effects together results in creating an overall
picture of immigrants‟ web activities. This enables us to answer our Problem
Statement. Our answer to the PS reads as follows.
(1) Immigrants acquire social capital by using web communities to a
large extent, by using web communities in a practical manner, as
tools that help in satisfying their needs (community belonging, helping
and supporting each other, information, communication, and building
relationships).
(2) The results from this research have showed that web communities
are the most influential actors in the field of immigration on the web
(immigrants‟ web communities attract the most visitors of all
immigrants‟ web spaces).
(3) We have identified that the activities of bonding social capital and
bridging social capital happen simultaneously during immigrants‟ web
community activity.
Finally, also in Chapter 6, we compare and contrast theoretical concepts with
the results from our study and, in so doing, we offer three ideas for further
research.
331
332
Samenvatting
Dit proefschrift onderzoekt de rol van het gebruik van
internetgemeenschappen door immigranten bij het verwerven van sociaal
kapitaal. Sociaal kapitaal is relevant voor immigratie omdat het een positieve
invloed heeft op de integratie van immigranten. Het onderzoek bestudeert
twee fenomenen in samenhang: (1) de migratie van mensen en (2) de
(revolutionaire) ontwikkeling van informatietechnologie (IT) vanuit het
perspectief van het verwerven van sociaal kapitaal. IT is een zeer ruim begrip
en voor de doeleinden van deze studie heeft de term slechts betrekking op de
websites en de internetgemeenschappen die door immigranten worden
gebruikt. Onderzoek op het gebied van de interactie van mensen op het
internet wijst uit dat het internet niet alleen invloed heeft op hoe mensen
communiceren maar ook met wie ze communiceren. Het hoofddoel van dit
onderzoek is gericht op de bestudering van deze invloed, zoals die is
verwoord in de volgende probleemstelling (PS).
PS:
In welke mate verwerven immigranten sociaal kapitaal door
middel van deelname aan internetgemeenschappen?
Om een antwoord te vinden op de probleemstelling worden in Hoofdstuk 1
drie onderzoeksvragen (OV‟s) geformuleerd.
OV1: Wat is de motivatie achter het gebruik van het internet door
immigranten?
OV2: Is het verkrijgen van sociaal kapitaal door immigranten in
internetgemeenschappen een aantoonbare verworvenheid?
OV3: Wat zijn voor immigranten de reële effecten van hun
activiteiten in een internetgemeenschap?
Twee soorten immigrantengemeenschappen op het internet zijn onderzocht:
(1) gemeenschappen gericht op de verwerving van bindend sociaal kapitaal –
een groep immigranten op het internet met dezelfde oorsprong en (2)
gemeenschappen gericht op de verwerving van overbruggend sociaal
kapitaal – een groep immigranten op het internet met hetzelfde land van
vestiging.
De onderzoeksmethode valt uiteen in drie, elkaar aanvullende, methoden van
onderzoek: (1) beschrijvend onderzoek; (2) gebruiksanalyse; en (3)
333
interviews. Om inzicht te verkrijgen in de verschillende motiverende factoren
die aan het gebruik van het internet ten grondslag liggen worden allereerst in
een kwantitatieve, beschrijvende analyse de internetsites in het domein van
de immigratie onderscheiden en geclassificeerd. Daarna worden de twee
meest representatieve internetsites geselecteerd als te onderzoeken
internetgemeenschappen. Vervolgens worden ze onderworpen aan een
kwalitatieve gebruiksanalyse, die is gebaseerd op een interpretatieve,
etnografische benadering. De interacties van gebruikers van de
internetgemeenschappen worden geanalyseerd aan de hand van (a) de
inhoud van de interacties en (b) de verwerving van sociaal kapitaal. Tot slot
worden interviews afgenomen bij gebruikers van de internetgemeenschappen
om vast te stellen hoe zij hun on-line internetactiviteiten ervaren en hoe die
activiteiten hun off-line levens beïnvloeden.
Hoofdstuk 2 geeft een overzicht van de literatuur over
internetgemeenschappen, immigratie en sociaal kapitaal. De transformatie
van sociale interactie in internetcommunicatie wordt besproken samen met
de invloed daarvan op het sociale integratieproces van immigranten.
Daarnaast wordt dieper ingegaan op het begrip internetgemeenschap en
haar kenmerken. Het hoofdstuk vervolgt met een analyse van de strategieën
die immigranten op het internet aanwenden om sociaal kapitaal te verwerven.
Het hoofdstuk sluit af met een bespreking van de synergie tussen on-line en
off-line ontwikkelingen die belangrijke veranderingen in het leven van
immigranten met zich mee heeft gebracht.
Hoofdstuk 3 behandelt OV1. Het presenteert een analyse van de voorkeuren
en de on-line activiteiten van immigranten. Als eerste wordt het
onderzoeksveld afgebakend. De studie volgt twee groepen immigranten op
het internet: (1) een wereldwijde gemeenschap van immigranten met
eenzelfde oorsprong – de Servische diaspora en (2) de in Zweden gevestigde
immigranten van diverse afkomst. Het internetgedrag van immigranten, dat
wil zeggen het gebruik van internetsites, is in vier stappen in kaart gebracht.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Identificatie
Opsomming
Meting
Ordening
Na het identificeren en opsommen worden de internetsites doorgelicht op
grond van drie factoren: locatie, classificatie en technologie. De classificatie is
334
uitgevoerd op basis van twee kenmerken: (1) reden voor oprichting (initiatief
van gebruikers of van een organisatie), en (2) type relatie tussen de
gebruikers (commercieel, non-profit). Daarnaast zijn de sites ingedeeld op
grond van het interessedomein dat ze bestrijken, zoals cultuur, sport, en
folklore. Tot slot is er gekeken naar enkele technische aspecten, te weten,
bereik en verkeer. Aan de hand van de resultaten wordt een antwoord
gegeven op OV1.
Hoofdstuk 4 behandelt OV2. Voor het vaststellen van de mate waarin sociaal
kapitaal wordt verworven door immigranten in internetgemeenschappen
worden hun on-line bijdragen aan de internetgemeenschappen geanalyseerd.
Daartoe zijn vijf prestatie-indicatoren (Key Performance Indicators; KPI‟s)
vastgesteld: (1) gemeenschapsvorming, (2) gemeenschapsnormen en –
waarden, (3) gemeenschapsidentiteit en immigratiezaken, (4) wederkerigheid
en (5) gemeenschapsengagement. De mate waarin een KPI van invloed is,
wordt bepaald op grond van zeven criteria.
Criterium 1: Voorkomen van interne-groep voornaamwoorden (zoals
“ons” en “wij”).
Criterium 2: Voorkomen van gedeelde onderwerpen.
Criterium 3: Voorkomen van rollen in de internetgemeenschap, b.v.
experts, informatieverstrekkers, en vertrouwensrollen.
Criterium 4: Voorkomen van zelf-perceptie in de rol van immigrant
zijn.
Criterium 5: Voorkomen van discussies over immigratiezaken.
Criterium 6: Voorkomen van (wederkerig) helpgedrag.
Criterium 7: Voorkomen van interacties op het gebied van
gezondheid, advies en bestrijding van
onrechtvaardigheid.
De criteria zijn als volgt over de vijf KPI‟s verdeeld.
KPI 1 – Gemeenschapsvorming: Criterium 1 en Criterium 2.
KPI 2 – Gemeenschapsnormen en – waarden: Criterium 3.
KPI 3 – Gemeenschapsidentiteit en immigratiezaken: Criterium 4 en
Criterium 5.
KPI 4 – Wederkerigheid: Criterium 6.
KPI 5 – Gemeenschapsengagement: Criterium 7.
335
Het hoofdstuk baseert zijn conclusies op de analyse van de KPI‟s en op het
onderscheid tussen activiteiten die zijn gerelateerd aan de verwerving van
bindend en overbruggend sociaal kapitaal. Het sluit af met een antwoord op
OV2.
Hoofdstuk 5 behandelt OV3. Het geeft een analyse van hoe gebruikers hun
leven op internet zien. Om de invloed van deelname aan een
internetgemeenschap op het dagelijkse leven in kaart te brengen zijn on-line,
semigestructureerde interviews afgenomen bij de deelnemers. Dezelfde vijf
KPI‟s als in Hoofdstuk 4 zijn gebruikt om de antwoorden van de deelnemers
te analyseren. De interviewvragen zijn zo geformuleerd (in lijn met de KPI‟s)
dat de geïnterviewden in staat waren om vrijelijk te praten over hun ideeën en
gevoelens als deelnemers van de internetgemeenschappen. Aan de hand
van de analyse van de antwoorden is een antwoord gegeven op OV3.
Hoofdstuk 6 vat het onderzoek samen en bespreekt de conclusies uit het
onderzoek aan de hand van de antwoorden op de drie onderzoeksvragen.
Het antwoord op OV1 luidt als volgt.
Interactieve internetgemeenschappen krijgen de meeste aandacht van de
immigranten. De immigranten gebruiken die gemeenschappen als een plek
om zich te uiten, te communiceren en activiteiten te plannen. De motivatie
van de immigranten om deel te nemen aan de gemeenschappen wordt
gevoed uit een gelijktijdige behoefte aan bindend en overbruggend sociaal
kapitaal. Het onderzoek laat geen verschillen zien tussen bindend en
overbruggend sociaal kapitaal wat de internetgemeenschappen betreft,
behoudens op het gebied van winstoogmerk. Internetgemeenschappen met
een bindend sociaal kapitaal karakter hebben vaker een winstoogmerk dan
internetgemeenschappen met een overbruggend sociaal kapitaal karakter.
Het antwoord op RQ2 luidt als volgt.
Het verkrijgen van sociaal kapitaal in internetgemeenschappen is voor
immigranten een aantoonbare verworvenheid. Dat geldt voor beide typen
internetgemeenschappen die in deze studie zijn onderzocht. Het gebruik van
beide internetgemeenschappen wordt gemotiveerd door de wens sociaal
kapitaal te verwerven.
336
Het antwoord op RQ3 luidt als volgt.
De resultaten laten drie soorten off-line effecten van nternetgemeenschappen
voor immigranten zien. De internetgemeenschappen zijn voor immigranten
luiden als volgt:
(a) Informatiecentra,
(b) Communicatieruimtes,
(c) Relatievormingsomgevingen.
De discussie over de drie effecten resulteert in een mooi overzicht van de
internetactiviteiten van de immigranten. Op basis daarvan kan het volgende,
gedifferentieerde antwoord op de probleemstelling gegeven worden.
(1) Immigranten verwerven sociaal kapitaal door deelname aan
internetgemeenschappen. De internetgemeenschappen dienen in
praktische zin als gereedschap om in de behoeften van de
immigranten te voorzien (behoeften aan gemeenschapszin, hulp
en ondersteuning, informatie, communicatie en relaties).
(2) De resultaten laten zien dat internetgemeenschappen de
invloedrijkste hulpmiddelen voor immigranten zijn op internet
(internetgemeenschappen trekken het grootste aantal bezoekers
van alle soorten websites voor immigranten).
(3) Het onderzoek toont aan dat activiteiten gerelateerd aan bindend
en overbruggend sociaal kapitaal tegelijkertijd plaatsvinden
gedurende het gebruik van de internetgemeenschappen door de
immigranten.
Tot slot worden in Hoofdstuk 6 de theoretische concepten afgezet tegen de
bevindingen en conclusies van het onderzoek, hetgeen resulteert in drie
aanbevelingen voor vervolgonderzoek.
337
338
Curriculum Vitae
Jasmina Maric was born in Belgrade in Yugoslavia on 24 th of August 1968.
She studied Theoretical and Experimental Physics at the University of
Belgrade (1987-1993). The bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia (1991-1999)
and the humiliating governing by Milosevic‟s family motivated her first
immigration attempt to Cyprus (1994). After coming back from Cyprus, she
became one of the web pioneers in the Balkans. Her personal experience of
immigration was a major influence on her subsequent life. In 1998 she
published her first novel “Cypriot Alphabet” (Nolit). She was short listed for
the NIN Book Prize (the most reputable book award in Serbia), and she was
awarded the Year Best Novel award by Nolit (1999). The bombardment of
Serbia in 1999 interrupted her writing career.
In 1999 she became a member of the online build and support team for what
quickly became the world‟s leading mind games web site
www.msoworld.com. That experience of online collaboration forever changed
her professional ambitions. In 2000 she started The Showroom project in
Belgrade, which helped disempowered and discriminated groups of young
people to express themselves and to interact by using the new media (she
wrote many journalistic articles about new media and communication). After
the public assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister in 2003 she decided
to close The Showroom project and move to Sweden. Based on family ties
she applied for a Swedish residence visa in 2004. Going through a
humiliating process of visa assessments inspired her second novel “The
Consolamentum”, which was written in 2004 and published by Rende in
2010. She was an assistant professor in web design and management at the
Business School of Applied Studies (Valjevo, Spain) from 2004-2005. In
2005, she earned a Bachelor of Business Informatics degree (majoring in Ecommerce) from the Business School of Applied Studies (Valjevo).
In 2005, she moved to Sweden. Once there she immediately started the
“Upgrade! Belgrade” network that was part of Upgrade! International ‒ a
network of autonomous nodes committed to bridging cultural divides in the
fields of art, technology, and culture. In 2006 she presented “Upgrade!
Network” at the Ars Electronica Conference (Linz). In 2006 and 2007 she
exhibited her new media art installations (Gothenburg, Sweden).
She completed a two-year Master of Science (MSc.) course with a major in
Applied IT at Chalmers University, Sweden in 2007. During the period 2005339
2010 she managed an international online collaboration team who developed
many tailor-made web-based software solutions.
In 2011 she started her Ph.D research at the Tilburg Center for Cognition and
Communication (TiCC), within the University of Tilburg. This research centre
has as its focus questions relating to whether and how we might be able to
interact with computers in a totally familiar and natural way, to communicate
with them in exactly the same way as we do with people. In this sense the
goal of TiCC is to "Make the computer adapt to us, not the other way round."
Jasmina is still passionate toward web-based software solutions and the
social impacts that their usage can have on the offline life of its users.
She enjoys mind games and nature, music and books.
Jasmina lives in Gothenburg with Davor and their son Vigor (born in 2007).
340
SIKS Dissertation Series
1998
1. Johan van den Akker (CWI18) DEGAS - An Active, Temporal Database of Autonomous
Objects
2. Floris Wiesman (UM) Information Retrieval by Graphically Browsing Meta-Information
3. Ans Steuten (TUD) A Contribution to the Linguistic Analysis of Business Conversations
within the Language/Action Perspective
4. Dennis Breuker (UM) Memory versus Search in Games
5. E.W.Oskamp (RUL) Computerondersteuning bij Straftoemeting
1999
1. Mark Sloof (VU) Physiology of Quality Change Modelling; Automated modelling of
Quality Change of Agricultural Products
2. Rob Potharst (EUR) Classification using decision trees and neural nets
3. Don Beal (UM) The Nature of Minimax Search
4. Jacques Penders (UM) The practical Art of Moving Physical Objects
5. Aldo de Moor (KUB) Empowering Communities: A Method for the Legitimate UserDriven Specification of Network Information Systems
6. Niek J.E. Wijngaards (VU) Re-design of compositional systems
7. David Spelt (UT) Verification support for object database design
8. Jacques H.J. Lenting (UM) Informed Gambling: Conception and Analysis of a MultiAgent Mechanism for Discrete Reallocation
2000
1. Frank Niessink (VU) Perspectives on Improving Software Maintenance
2. Koen Holtman (TU/e) Prototyping of CMS Storage Management
3. Carolien M.T. Metselaar (UvA) Sociaal-organisatorische gevolgen van
kennistechnologie; een procesbenadering en actorperspectief.
4. Geert de Haan (VU) ETAG, A Formal Model of Competence Knowledge for User
Interface Design
5. Ruud van der Pol (UM) Knowledge-based Query Formulation in Information Retrieval
6. Rogier van Eijk (UU) Programming Languages for Agent Communication
7. Niels Peek (UU) Decision-theoretic Planning of Clinical Patient Management
8. Veerle Coup‚ (EUR) Sensitivity Analyis of Decision-Theoretic Networks
9. Florian Waas (CWI) Principles of Probabilistic Query Optimization
Abbreviations: SIKS – Dutch Research School for Information and Knowledge Systems;
CWI – Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica, Amsterdam; EUR – Erasmus Universiteit,
Rotterdam; KUB – Katholieke Universiteit Brabant, Tilburg; KUN - Katholieke Universiteit
Nijmegen; OU – Open Universiteit; RUL – Rijksuniversiteit Leiden; RUN – Radbourd
Universiteit Nijmegen; TUD – Technische Universiteit Delft; TU/e - Technische Universiteit
Eindhoven; UL – Universiteit Leiden; UM – Universiteit Maastricht; UT – Universiteit Twente,
Enschede; UU – Universiteit Utrecht; UvA – Universiteit van Amsterdam; UvT – Universiteit
van Tilburg; VU – Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.
18
341
10. Niels Nes (CWI) Image Database Management System Design Considerations,
Algorithms and Architecture
11. Jonas Karlsson (CWI) Scalable Distributed Data Structures for Database Management
2001
1. Silja Renooij (UU) Qualitative Approaches to Quantifying Probabilistic Networks
2. Koen Hindriks (UU) Agent Programming Languages: Programming with Mental Models
3. Maarten van Someren (UvA) Learning as problem solving
4. Evgueni Smirnov (UM) Conjunctive and Disjunctive Version Spaces with InstanceBased Boundary Sets
5. Jacco van Ossenbruggen (VU) Processing Structured Hypermedia: A Matter of Style
6. Martijn van Welie (VU) Task-based User Interface Design
7. Bastiaan Schonhage (VU) Diva: Architectural Perspectives on Information Visualization
8. Pascal van Eck (VU) A Compositional Semantic Structure for Multi-Agent Systems
Dynamics
9. Pieter Jan 't Hoen (RUL) Towards Distributed Development of Large Object-Oriented
Models, Views of Packages as Classes
10. Maarten Sierhuis (UvA) Modeling and Simulating Work Practice BRAHMS: a multiagent
modeling and simulation language for work practice analysis and design
11. Tom M. van Engers (VUA) Knowledge Management: The Role of Mental Models in
Business Systems Design
2002
1. Nico Lassing (VU) Architecture-Level Modifiability Analysis
2. Roelof van Zwol (UT) Modelling and searching web-based document collections
3. Henk Ernst Blok (UT) Database Optimization Aspects for Information Retrieval
4. Juan Roberto Castelo Valdueza (UU) The Discrete Acyclic Digraph Markov Model in
Data Mining
5. Radu Serban (VU) The Private Cyberspace Modeling Electronic Environments inhabited
by Privacy-concerned Agents
6. Laurens Mommers (UL) Applied legal epistemology; Building a knowledge-based
ontology of the legal domain
7. Peter Boncz (CWI) Monet: A Next-Generation DBMS Kernel For Query-Intensive
Applications
8. Jaap Gordijn (VU) Value Based Requirements Engineering: Exploring Innovative ECommerce Ideas
9. Willem-Jan van den Heuvel (KUB) Integrating Modern Business Applications with
Objectified Legacy Systems
10. Brian Sheppard (UM) Towards Perfect Play of Scrabble
11. Wouter C.A. Wijngaards (VU) Agent Based Modelling of Dynamics: Biological and
Organisational Applications
12. Albrecht Schmidt (UvA) Processing XML in Database Systems
13. Hongjing Wu (TU/e) A Reference Architecture for Adaptive Hypermedia Applications
14. Wieke de Vries (UU) Agent Interaction: Abstract Approaches to Modelling, Programming
and Verifying Multi-Agent Systems
15. Rik Eshuis (UT) Semantics and Verification of UML Activity Diagrams for Workflow
Modelling
16. Pieter van Langen (VU) The Anatomy of Design: Foundations, Models and Applications
342
17. Stefan Manegold (UvA) Understanding, Modeling, and Improving Main-Memory
Database Performance
2003
1. Heiner Stuckenschmidt (VU) Ontology-Based Information Sharing in Weakly Structured
Environments
2. Jan Broersen (VU) Modal Action Logics for Reasoning About Reactive Systems
3. Martijn Schuemie (TUD) Human-Computer Interaction and Presence in Virtual Reality
Exposure Therapy
4. Milan Petkovic (UT) Content-Based Video Retrieval Supported by Database Technology
5. Jos Lehmann (UvA) Causation in Artificial Intelligence and Law - A modelling approach
6. Boris van Schooten (UT) Development and specification of virtual environments
7. Machiel Jansen (UvA) Formal Explorations of Knowledge Intensive Tasks
8. Yongping Ran (UM) Repair Based Scheduling
9. Rens Kortmann (UM) The resolution of visually guided behaviour
10. Andreas Lincke (UvT) Electronic Business Negotiation: Some experimental studies on
the interaction between medium, innovation context and culture
11. Simon Keizer (UT) Reasoning under Uncertainty in Natural Language Dialogue using
Bayesian Networks
12. Roeland Ordelman (UT) Dutch speech recognition in multimedia information retrieval
13. Jeroen Donkers (UM) Nosce Hostem - Searching with Opponent Models
14. Stijn Hoppenbrouwers (KUN) Freezing Language: Conceptualisation Processes across
ICT-Supported Organisations
15. Mathijs de Weerdt (TUD) Plan Merging in Multi-Agent Systems
16. Menzo Windhouwer (CWI) Feature Grammar Systems - Incremental Maintenance of
Indexes to Digital Media Warehouses
17. David Jansen (UT) Extensions of Statecharts with Probability, Time, and Stochastic
Timing
18. Levente Kocsis (UM) Learning Search Decisions
2004
1. Virginia Dignum (UU) A Model for Organizational Interaction: Based on Agents,
Founded in Logic
2. Lai Xu (UvT) Monitoring Multi-party Contracts for E-business
3. Perry Groot (VU) A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Approximation in Symbolic
Problem Solving
4. Chris van Aart (UvA) Organizational Principles for Multi-Agent Architectures
5. Viara Popova (EUR) Knowledge discovery and monotonicity
6. Bart-Jan Hommes (TUD) The Evaluation of Business Process Modeling Techniques
7. Elise Boltjes (UM) Voorbeeldig onderwijs; voorbeeldgestuurd onderwijs, een opstap
naar abstract denken, vooral voor meisjes
8.
Joop Verbeek (UM) Politie en de Nieuwe Internationale Informatiemarkt, Grensregionale
politile gegevensuitwisseling en digitale expertise
9. Martin Caminada (VU) For the Sake of the Argument; explorations into argument-based
reasoning
10. Suzanne Kabel (UvA) Knowledge-rich indexing of learning-objects
11. Michel Klein (VU) Change Management for Distributed Ontologies
343
12. The Duy Bui (UT) Creating emotions and facial expressions for embodied agents
13. Wojciech Jamroga (UT) Using Multiple Models of Reality: On Agents who Know how to
Play
14. Paul Harrenstein (UU) Logic in Conflict. Logical Explorations in Strategic Equilibrium
15. Arno Knobbe (UU) Multi-Relational Data Mining
16. Federico Divina (VU) Hybrid Genetic Relational Search for Inductive Learning
17. Mark Winands (UM) Informed Search in Complex Games
18. Vania Bessa Machado (UvA) Supporting the Construction of Qualitative Knowledge
Models
19. Thijs Westerveld (UT) Using generative probabilistic models for multimedia retrieval
20. Madelon Evers (Nyenrode) Learning from Design: facilitating multidisciplinary design
teams
2005
1. Floor Verdenius (UvA) Methodological Aspects of Designing Induction-Based
Applications
2. Erik van der Werf (UM) AI techniques for the game of Go
3. Franc Grootjen (RUN) A Pragmatic Approach to the Conceptualisation of Language
4. Nirvana Meratnia (UT) Towards Database Support for Moving Object data
5. Gabriel Infante-Lopez (UvA) Two-Level Probabilistic Grammars for Natural Language
Parsing
6. Pieter Spronck (UM) Adaptive Game AI
7. Flavius Frasincar (TU/e) Hypermedia Presentation Generation for Semantic Web
Information Systems
8. Richard Vdovjak (TU/e) A Model-driven Approach for Building Distributed Ontologybased Web Applications
9. Jeen Broekstra (VU) Storage, Querying and Inferencing for Semantic Web Languages
10. Anders Bouwer (UvA) Explaining Behaviour: Using Qualitative Simulation in Interactive
Learning Environments
11. Elth Ogston (VU) Agent Based Matchmaking and Clustering - A Decentralized Approach
to Search
12. Csaba Boer (EUR) Distributed Simulation in Industry
13. Fred Hamburg (UL) Een Computermodel voor het Ondersteunen van
Euthanasiebeslissingen
14. Borys Omelayenko (VU) Web-Service configuration on the Semantic Web; Exploring
how semantics meets pragmatics
15. Tibor Bosse (VU) Analysis of the Dynamics of Cognitive Processes
16. Joris Graaumans (UU) Usability of XML Query Languages
17. Boris Shishkov (TUD) Software Specification Based on Re-usable Business
Components
18. Danielle Sent (UU) Test-selection strategies for probabilistic networks
19. Michel van Dartel (UM) Situated Representation
20. Cristina Coteanu (UL) Cyber Consumer Law, State of the Art and Perspectives
21. Wijnand Derks (UT) Improving Concurrency and Recovery in Database Systems by
Exploiting Application Semantics
2006
1. Samuil Angelov (TU/e) Foundations of B2B Electronic Contracting
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19.
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22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Cristina Chisalita (VU) Contextual issues in the design and use of information
technology in organizations
Noor Christoph (UvA) The role of metacognitive skills in learning to solve problems
Marta Sabou (VU) Building Web Service Ontologies
Cees Pierik (UU) Validation Techniques for Object-Oriented Proof Outlines
Ziv Baida (VU) Software-aided Service Bundling - Intelligent Methods & Tools for
Graphical Service Modeling
Marko Smiljanic (UT) XML schema matching -- balancing efficiency and effectiveness by
means of clustering
Eelco Herder (UT) Forward, Back and Home Again - Analyzing User Behavior on the
Web
Mohamed Wahdan (UM) Automatic Formulation of the Auditor's Opinion
Ronny Siebes (VU) Semantic Routing in Peer-to-Peer Systems
Joeri van Ruth (UT) Flattening Queries over Nested Data Types
Bert Bongers (VU) Interactivation - Towards an e-cology of people, our technological
environment, and the arts
Henk-Jan Lebbink (UU) Dialogue and Decision Games for Information Exchanging
Agents
Johan Hoorn (VU) Software Requirements: Update, Upgrade, Redesign - towards a
Theory of Requirements Change
Rainer Malik (UU) CONAN: Text Mining in the Biomedical Domain
Carsten Riggelsen (UU) Approximation Methods for Efficient Learning of Bayesian
Networks
Stacey Nagata (UU) User Assistance for Multitasking with Interruptions on a Mobile
Device
Valentin Zhizhkun (UvA) Graph transformation for Natural Language Processing
Birna van Riemsdijk (UU) Cognitive Agent Programming: A Semantic Approach
Marina Velikova (UvT) Monotone models for prediction in data mining
Bas van Gils (RUN)Aptness on the Web
Paul de Vrieze (RUN) Fundaments of Adaptive Personalisation
Ion Juvina (UU) Development of Cognitive Model for Navigating on the Web
Laura Hollink (VU) Semantic Annotation for Retrieval of Visual Resources
Madalina Drugan (UU) Conditional log-likelihood MDL and Evolutionary MCMC
Vojkan Mihajlovic (UT) Score Region Algebra: A Flexible Framework for Structured
Information Retrieval
Stefano Bocconi (CWI) Vox Populi: generating video documentaries from semantically
annotated media repositories
Borkur Sigurbjornsson (UvA) Focused Information Access using XML Element Retrieval
2007
1. Kees Leune (UvT) Access Control and Service-Oriented Architectures
2. Wouter Teepe (RUG) Reconciling Information Exchange and Confidentiality: A Formal
Approach
3. Peter Mika (VU) Social Networks and the Semantic Web
4. Jurriaan van Diggelen (UU) Achieving Semantic Interoperability in Multi-agent Systems:
a dialogue-based approach
5. Bart Schermer (UL) Software Agents, Surveillance, and the Right to Privacy: a
Legislative Framework for Agent-enabled Surveillance
345
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20.
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22.
23.
24.
25.
Gilad Mishne (UvA) Applied Text Analytics for Blogs
Natasa Jovanovic (UT) To Whom It May Concern - Addressee Identification in Face-toFace Meetings
Mark Hoogendoorn (VU) Modeling of Change in Multi-Agent Organizations
David Mobach (VU) Agent-Based Mediated Service Negotiation
Huib Aldewereld (UU) Autonomy vs. Conformity: an Institutional Perspective on Norms
and Protocols
Natalia Stash (TU/e) Incorporating Cognitive/Learning Styles in a General-Purpose
Adaptive Hypermedia System
Marcel van Gerven (RUN) Bayesian Networks for Clinical Decision Support: A Rational
Approach to Dynamic Decision-Making under Uncertainty
Rutger Rienks (UT) Meetings in Smart Environments; Implications of Progressing
Technology
Niek Bergboer (UM) Context-Based Image Analysis
Joyca Lacroix (UM) NIM: a Situated Computational Memory Model
Davide Grossi (UU) Designing Invisible Handcuffs. Formal investigations in Institutions
and Organizations for Multi-agent Systems
Theodore Charitos (UU) Reasoning with Dynamic Networks in Practice
Bart Orriens (UvT) On the development an management of adaptive business
collaborations
David Levy (UM) Intimate relationships with artificial partners
Slinger Jansen (UU) Customer Configuration Updating in a Software Supply Network
Karianne Vermaas (UU) Fast diffusion and broadening use: A research on residential
adoption and usage of broadband internet in the Netherlands between 2001 and 2005
Zlatko Zlatev (UT) Goal-oriented design of value and process models from patterns
Peter Barna (TU/e) Specification of Application Logic in Web Information Systems
Georgina Ramírez Camps (CWI) Structural Features in XML Retrieval
Joost Schalken (VU) Empirical Investigations in Software Process Improvement
2008
1. Katalin Boer-Sorbán (EUR) Agent-Based Simulation of Financial Markets: A modular,
continuous-time approach
2. Alexei Sharpanskykh (VU) On Computer-Aided Methods for Modeling and Analysis of
Organizations
3. Vera Hollink (UvA) Optimizing hierarchical menus: a usage-based approach
4. Ander de Keijzer (UT) Management of Uncertain Data - towards unattended integration
5. Bela Mutschler (UT) Modeling and simulating causal dependencies on process-aware
information systems from a cost perspective
6. Arjen Hommersom (RUN) On the Application of Formal Methods to Clinical Guidelines,
an Artificial Intelligence Perspective
7. Peter van Rosmalen (OU) Supporting the tutor in the design and support of adaptive elearning
8. Janneke Bolt (UU) Bayesian Networks: Aspects of Approximate Inference
9. Christof van Nimwegen (UU) The paradox of the guided user: assistance can be
counter-effective
10. Wauter Bosma (UT) Discourse oriented summarization
11. Vera Kartseva (VU) Designing Controls for Network Organizations: A Value-Based
Approach
346
12. Jozsef Farkas (RUN) A Semiotically Oriented Cognitive Model of Knowledge
Representation
13. Caterina Carraciolo (UvA) Topic Driven Access to Scientific Handbooks
14. Arthur van Bunningen (UT) Context-Aware Querying; Better Answers with Less Effort
15. Martijn van Otterlo (UT) The Logic of Adaptive Behavior: Knowledge Representation and
Algorithms for the Markov Decision Process Framework in First-Order Domains
16. Henriette van Vugt (VU) Embodied agents from a user's perspective
17. Martin Op 't Land (TUD) Applying Architecture and Ontology to the Splitting and Allying
of Enterprises
18. Guido de Croon (UM) Adaptive Active Vision
19. Henning Rode (UT) From Document to Entity Retrieval: Improving Precision and
Performance of Focused Text Search
20. Rex Arendsen (UvA) Geen bericht, goed bericht. Een onderzoek naar de effecten van
de introductie van elektronisch berichtenverkeer met de overheid op de administratieve
lasten van bedrijven
21. Krisztian Balog (UvA) People Search in the Enterprise
22. Henk Koning (UU) Communication of IT-Architecture
23. Stefan Visscher (UU) Bayesian network models for the management of ventilatorassociated pneumonia
24. Zharko Aleksovski (VU) Using background knowledge in ontology matching
25. Geert Jonker (UU) Efficient and Equitable Exchange in Air Traffic Management Plan
Repair using Spender-signed Currency
26. Marijn Huijbregts (UT) Segmentation, Diarization and Speech Transcription: Surprise
Data Unraveled
27. Hubert Vogten (OU) Design and Implementation Strategies for IMS Learning Design
28. Ildiko Flesch (RUN) On the Use of Independence Relations in Bayesian Networks
29. Dennis Reidsma (UT) Annotations and Subjective Machines - Of Annotators, Embodied
Agents, Users, and Other Humans
30. Wouter van Atteveldt (VU) Semantic Network Analysis: Techniques for Extracting,
Representing and Querying Media Content
31. Loes Braun (UM) Pro-Active Medical Information Retrieval
32. Trung H. Bui (UT) Toward Affective Dialogue Management using Partially Observable
Markov Decision Processes
33. Frank Terpstra (UvA) Scientific Workflow Design; theoretical and practical issues
34. Jeroen de Knijf (UU) Studies in Frequent Tree Mining
35. Ben Torben Nielsen (UvT) Dendritic morphologies: function shapes structure
2009
1. Rasa Jurgelenaite (RUN) Symmetric Causal Independence Models
2. Willem Robert van Hage (VU) Evaluating Ontology-Alignment Techniques
3. Hans Stol (UvT) A Framework for Evidence-based Policy Making Using IT
4. Josephine Nabukenya (RUN) Improving the Quality of Organisational Policy Making
using Collaboration Engineering
5. Sietse Overbeek (RUN) Bridging Supply and Demand for Knowledge Intensive Tasks Based on Knowledge, Cognition, and Quality
6. Muhammad Subianto (UU) Understanding Classification
7. Ronald Poppe (UT) Discriminative Vision-Based Recovery and Recognition of Human
Motion
347
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Volker Nannen (VU) Evolutionary Agent-Based Policy Analysis in Dynamic
Environments
Benjamin Kanagwa (RUN) Design, Discovery and Construction of Service-oriented
Systems
Jan Wielemaker (UvA) Logic programming for knowledge-intensive interactive
applications
Alexander Boer (UvA) Legal Theory, Sources of Law & the Semantic Web
Peter Massuthe (TU/e), Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin) Operating Guidelines for
Services
Steven de Jong (UM) Fairness in Multi-Agent Systems
Maksym Korotkiy (VU) From ontology-enabled services to service-enabled ontologies
(making ontologies work in e-science with ONTO-SOA)
Rinke Hoekstra (UvA) Ontology Representation - Design Patterns and Ontologies that
Make Sense
Fritz Reul (UvT) New Architectures in Computer Chess
Laurens van der Maaten (UvT) Feature Extraction from Visual Data
Fabian Groffen (CWI) Armada, An Evolving Database System
Valentin Robu (CWI) Modeling Preferences, Strategic Reasoning and Collaboration in
Agent-Mediated Electronic Markets
Bob van der Vecht (UU) Adjustable Autonomy: Controling Influences on Decision
Making
Stijn Vanderlooy (UM) Ranking and Reliable Classification
Pavel Serdyukov (UT) Search For Expertise: Going beyond direct evidence
Peter Hofgesang (VU) Modelling Web Usage in a Changing Environment
Annerieke Heuvelink (VU) Cognitive Models for Training Simulations
Alex van Ballegooij (CWI) "RAM: Array Database Management through Relational
Mapping"
Fernando Koch (UU) An Agent-Based Model for the Development of Intelligent Mobile
Services
Christian Glahn (OU) Contextual Support of social Engagement and Reflection on the
Web
Sander Evers (UT) Sensor Data Management with Probabilistic Models
Stanislav Pokraev (UT) Model-Driven Semantic Integration of Service-Oriented
Applications
Marcin Zukowski (CWI) Balancing vectorized query execution with bandwidth-optimized
storage
Sofiya Katrenko (UvA) A Closer Look at Learning Relations from Text
Rik Farenhorst (VU) and Remco de Boer (VU) Architectural Knowledge Management:
Supporting Architects and Auditors
Khiet Truong (UT) How Does Real Affect Affect Affect Recognition In Speech?
Inge van de Weerd (UU) Advancing in Software Product Management: An Incremental
Method Engineering Approach
Wouter Koelewijn (UL) Privacy en Politiegegevens; Over geautomatiseerde normatieve
informatie-uitwisseling
Marco Kalz (OUN) Placement Support for Learners in Learning Networks
Hendrik Drachsler (OUN) Navigation Support for Learners in Informal Learning
Networks
348
38. Riina Vuorikari (OU) Tags and self-organisation: a metadata ecology for learning
resources in a multilingual context
39. Christian Stahl (TU/e), Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin) Service Substitution - A
Behavioral Approach Based on Petri Nets
40. Stephan Raaijmakers (UvT) Multinomial Language Learning: Investigations into the
Geometry of Language
41. Igor Berezhnyy (UvT) Digital Analysis of Paintings
42. Toine Bogers (UvT) Recommender Systems for Social Bookmarking
43. Virginia Nunes Leal Franqueira (UT) Finding Multi-step Attacks in Computer Networks
using Heuristic Search and Mobile Ambients
44. Roberto Santana Tapia (UT) Assessing Business-IT Alignment in Networked
Organizations
45. Jilles Vreeken (UU) Making Pattern Mining Useful
46. Loredana Afanasiev (UvA) Querying XML: Benchmarks and Recursion
2010
1. Matthijs van Leeuwen (UU) Patterns that Matter
2. Ingo Wassink (UT) Work flows in Life Science
3. Joost Geurts (CWI) A Document Engineering Model and Processing Framework for
Multimedia documents
4. Olga Kulyk (UT) Do You Know What I Know? Situational Awareness of Co-located
Teams in Multidisplay Environments
5. Claudia Hauff (UT) Predicting the Effectiveness of Queries and Retrieval Systems
6. Sander Bakkes (UvT) Rapid Adaptation of Video Game AI
7. Wim Fikkert (UT) Gesture interaction at a Distance
8. Krzysztof Siewicz (UL) Towards an Improved Regulatory Framework of Free Software.
Protecting user freedoms in a world of software communities and eGovernments
9. Hugo Kielman (UL) A Politiele gegevensverwerking en Privacy, Naar een effectieve
waarborging
10. Rebecca Ong (UL) Mobile Communication and Protection of Children
11. Adriaan Ter Mors (TUD) The world according to MARP: Multi-Agent Route Planning
12. Susan van den Braak (UU) Sensemaking software for crime analysis
13. Gianluigi Folino (RUN) High Performance Data Mining using Bio-inspired techniques
14. Sander van Splunter (VU) Automated Web Service Reconfiguration
15. Lianne Bodenstaff (UT) Managing Dependency Relations in Inter-Organizational Models
16. Sicco Verwer (TUD) Efficient Identification of Timed Automata, theory and practice
17. Spyros Kotoulas (VU) Scalable Discovery of Networked Resources: Algorithms,
Infrastructure, Applications
18. Charlotte Gerritsen (VU) Caught in the Act: Investigating Crime by Agent-Based
Simulation
19. Henriette Cramer (UvA) People's Responses to Autonomous and Adaptive Systems
20. Ivo Swartjes (UT) Whose Story Is It Anyway? How Improv Informs Agency and
Authorship of Emergent Narrative
21. Harold van Heerde (UT) Privacy-aware data management by means of data degradation
22. Michiel Hildebrand (CWI) End-user Support for Access to\\ Heterogeneous Linked Data
23. Bas Steunebrink (UU) The Logical Structure of Emotions
24. Dmytro Tykhonov (TUD) Designing Generic and Efficient Negotiation Strategies
349
25. Zulfiqar Ali Memon (VU) Modelling Human-Awareness for Ambient Agents: A Human
Mindreading Perspective
26. Ying Zhang (CWI) XRPC: Efficient Distributed Query Processing on Heterogeneous
XQuery Engines
27. Marten Voulon (UL) Automatisch contracteren
28. Arne Koopman (UU) Characteristic Relational Patterns
29. Stratos Idreos(CWI) Database Cracking: Towards Auto-tuning Database Kernels
30. Marieke van Erp (UvT) Accessing Natural History - Discoveries in data cleaning,
structuring, and retrieval
31. Victor de Boer (UvA) Ontology Enrichment from Heterogeneous Sources on the Web
32. Marcel Hiel (UvT) An Adaptive Service Oriented Architecture: Automatically solving
Interoperability Problems
33. Robin Aly (UT) Modeling Representation Uncertainty in Concept-Based Multimedia
Retrieval
34. Teduh Dirgahayu (UT) Interaction Design in Service Compositions
35. Dolf Trieschnigg (UT) Proof of Concept: Concept-based Biomedical Information
Retrieval
36. Jose Janssen (OU) Paving the Way for Lifelong Learning; Facilitating competence
development through a learning path specification
37. Niels Lohmann (TU/e) Correctness of services and their composition
38. Dirk Fahland (TU/e) From Scenarios to components
39. Ghazanfar Farooq Siddiqui (VU) Integrative modeling of emotions in virtual agents
40. Mark van Assem (VU) Converting and Integrating Vocabularies for the Semantic Web
41. Guillaume Chaslot (UM) Monte-Carlo Tree Search
42. Sybren de Kinderen (VU) Needs-driven service bundling in a multi-supplier setting - the
computational e3-service approach
43. Peter van Kranenburg (UU) A Computational Approach to Content-Based Retrieval of
Folk Song Melodies
44. Pieter Bellekens (TU/e) An Approach towards Context-sensitive and User-adapted
Access to Heterogeneous Data Sources, Illustrated in the Television Domain
45. Vasilios Andrikopoulos (UvT) A theory and model for the evolution of software services
46. Vincent Pijpers (VU) e3alignment: Exploring Inter-Organizational Business-ICT
Alignment
47. Chen Li (UT) Mining Process Model Variants: Challenges, Techniques, Examples
48. Withdrawn
49. Jahn-Takeshi Saito (UM) Solving difficult game positions
50. Bouke Huurnink (UvA) Search in Audiovisual Broadcast Archives
51. Alia Khairia Amin (CWI) Understanding and supporting information seeking tasks in
multiple sources
52. Peter-Paul van Maanen (VU) Adaptive Support for Human-Computer Teams: Exploring
the Use of Cognitive Models of Trust and Attention
53. Edgar Meij (UvA) Combining Concepts and Language Models for Information Access
2011
1. Botond Cseke (RUN) Variational Algorithms for Bayesian Inference in Latent Gaussian
Models
2. Nick Tinnemeier (UU) Organizing Agent Organizations. Syntax and Operational
Semantics of an Organization-Oriented Programming Language
350
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34.
Jan Martijn van der Werf (TU/e) Compositional Design and Verification of ComponentBased Information Systems
Hado van Hasselt (UU) Insights in Reinforcement Learning; Formal analysis and
empirical evaluation of temporal-difference learning algorithms
Base van der Raadt (VU) Enterprise Architecture Coming of Age - Increasing the
Performance of an Emerging Discipline.
Yiwen Wang (TU/e) Semantically-Enhanced Recommendations in Cultural Heritage
Yujia Cao (UT) Multimodal Information Presentation for High Load Human Computer
Interaction
Nieske Vergunst (UU) BDI-based Generation of Robust Task-Oriented Dialogues
Tim de Jong (OU) Contextualised Mobile Media for Learning
Bart Bogaert (UvT) Cloud Content Contention
Dhaval Vyas (UT) Designing for Awareness: An Experience-focused HCI Perspective
Carmen Bratosin (TU/e) Grid Architecture for Distributed Process Mining
Xiaoyu Mao (UvT) Airport under Control. Multiagent Scheduling for Airport Ground
Handling
Milan Lovric (EUR) Behavioral Finance and Agent-Based Artificial Markets
Marijn Koolen (UvA) The Meaning of Structure: the Value of Link Evidence for
Information Retrieval
Maarten Schadd (UM) Selective Search in Games of Different Complexity
Jiyin He (UvA) Exploring Topic Structure: Coherence, Diversity and Relatedness
Mark Ponsen (UM) Strategic Decision-Making in complex games
Ellen Rusman (OU) The Mind’s Eye on Personal Profiles
Qing Gu (VU) Guiding service-oriented software engineering - A view-based approach
Linda Terlouw (TUD) Modularization and Specification of Service-Oriented Systems
Junte Zhang (UvA) System Evaluation of Archival Description and Access
Wouter Weerkamp (UvA) Finding People and their Utterances in Social Media
Herwin van Welbergen (UT) Behavior Generation for Interpersonal Coordination with
Virtual Humans On Specifying, Scheduling and Realizing Multimodal Virtual Human
Behavior
Syed Waqar ul Qounain Jaffry (VU) Analysis and Validation of Models for Trust
Dynamics
Matthijs Aart Pontier (VU) Virtual Agents for Human Communication - Emotion
Regulation and Involvement-Distance Trade-Offs in Embodied Conversational Agents
and Robots
Aniel Bhulai (VU) Dynamic website optimization through autonomous management of
design patterns
Rianne Kaptein(UvA) Effective Focused Retrieval by Exploiting Query Context and
Document Structure
Faisal Kamiran (TU/e) Discrimination-aware Classification
Egon van den Broek (UT) Affective Signal Processing (ASP): Unraveling the mystery of
emotions
Ludo Waltman (EUR) Computational and Game-Theoretic Approaches for Modeling
Bounded Rationality
Nees-Jan van Eck (EUR) Methodological Advances in Bibliometric Mapping of Science
Tom van der Weide (UU) Arguing to Motivate Decisions
Paolo Turrini (UU) Strategic Reasoning in Interdependence: Logical and Gametheoretical Investigations
351
35. Maaike Harbers (UU) Explaining Agent Behavior in Virtual Training
36. Erik van der Spek (UU) Experiments in serious game design: a cognitive approach
37. Adriana Burlutiu (RUN) Machine Learning for Pairwise Data, Applications for Preference
Learning and Supervised Network Inference
38. Nyree Lemmens (UM) Bee-inspired Distributed Optimization
39. Joost Westra (UU) Organizing Adaptation using Agents in Serious Games
40. Viktor Clerc (VU) Architectural Knowledge Management in Global Software
Development
41. Luan Ibraimi (UT) Cryptographically Enforced Distributed Data Access Control
42. Michal Sindlar (UU) Explaining Behavior through Mental State Attribution
43. Henk van der Schuur (UU) Process Improvement through Software Operation
Knowledge
44. Boris Reuderink (UT) Robust Brain-Computer Interfaces
45. Herman Stehouwer (UvT) Statistical Language Models for Alternative Sequence
Selection
46. Beibei Hu (TUD) Towards Contextualized Information Delivery: A Rule-based
Architecture for the Domain of Mobile Police Work
47. Azizi Bin Ab Aziz(VU) Exploring Computational Models for Intelligent Support of Persons
with Depression
48. Mark Ter Maat (UT) Response Selection and Turn-taking for a Sensitive Artificial
Listening Agent
49. Andreea Niculescu (UT) Conversational interfaces for task-oriented spoken dialogues:
design aspects influencing interaction quality
2012
1. Terry Kakeeto (UvT) Relationship Marketing for SMEs in Uganda
2. Muhammad Umair (VU) Adaptivity, emotion, and Rationality in Human and Ambient
Agent Models
3. Adam Vanya (VU) Supporting Architecture Evolution by Mining Software Repositories
4. Jurriaan Souer (UU) Development of Content Management System-based Web
Applications
5. Marijn Plomp (UU) Maturing Interorganisational Information Systems
6. Wolfgang Reinhardt (OU) Awareness Support for Knowledge Workers in Research
Networks
7. Rianne van Lambalgen (VU) When the Going Gets Tough: Exploring Agent-based
Models of Human Performance under Demanding Conditions
8. Gerben de Vries (UvA) Kernel Methods for Vessel Trajectories
9. Ricardo Neisse (UT) Trust and Privacy Management Support for Context-Aware Service
Platforms
10. David Smits (TU/e) Towards a Generic Distributed Adaptive Hypermedia Environment
11. J.C.B. Rantham Prabhakara (TU/e) Process Mining in the Large: Preprocessing,
Discovery, and Diagnostics
12. Kees van der Sluijs (TU/e) Model Driven Design and Data Integration in Semantic Web
Information Systems
13. Suleman Shahid (UvT) Fun and Face: Exploring non-verbal expressions of emotion
during playful interactions
14. Evgeny Knutov (TU/e) Generic Adaptation Framework for Unifying Adaptive Web-based
Systems
352
15. Natalie van der Wal (VU) Social Agents. Agent-Based Modelling of Integrated Internal
and Social Dynamics of Cognitive and Affective Processes.
16. Fiemke Both (VU) Helping people by understanding them - Ambient Agents supporting
task execution and depression treatment
17. Amal Elgammal (UvT) Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Business Process
Compliance
18. Eltjo Poort (VU) Improving Solution Architecting Practices
19. Helen Schonenberg (TU/e) What's Next? Operational Support for Business Process
Execution
20. Ali Bahramisharif (RUN) Covert Visual Spatial Attention, a Robust Paradigm for BrainComputer Interfacing
21. Roberto Cornacchia (TUD) Querying Sparse Matrices for Information Retrieval
22. Thijs Vis (UvT) Intelligence, politie en veiligheidsdienst: verenigbare grootheden?
23. Christian Muehl (UT) Toward Affective Brain-Computer Interfaces: Exploring the
Neurophysiology of Affect during Human Media Interaction
24. Laurens van der Werff (UT) Evaluation of Noisy Transcripts for Spoken Document
Retrieval
25. Silja Eckartz (UT) Managing the Business Case Development in Inter-Organizational IT
Projects: A Methodology and its Application
26. Emile de Maat (UvA) Making Sense of Legal Text
27. Hayrettin Gürkök (UT) Mind the Sheep! User Experience Evaluation & Brain-Computer
Interface Games
28. Nancy Pascall (UvT) Engendering Technology Empowering Women
29. Almer Tigelaar (UT) Peer-to-Peer Information Retrieval
30. Alina Pommeranz (TUD) Designing Human-Centered Systems for Reflective Decision
Making
31. Emily Bagarukayo (RUN) A Learning by Construction Approach for Higher Order
Cognitive Skills Improvement, Building Capacity and Infrastructure
32. Wietske Visser (TUD) Qualitative multi-criteria preference representation and reasoning
33. Rory Sie (OU) Coalitions in Cooperation Networks (COCOON)
34. Pavol Jancura (RUN) Evolutionary analysis in PPI networks and applications
35. Evert Haasdijk (VU) Never Too Old To Learn - On-line Evolution of Controllers in
Swarm-and Modular Robotics
36. Denis Ssebugwawo (RUN) Analysis and Evaluation of Collaborative Modeling
Processes
37. Agnes Nakakawa (RUN) A Collaboration Process for Enterprise Architecture Creation
38. Selmar Smit (VU) Parameter Tuning and Scientific Testing in Evolutionary Algorithms
39. Hassan Fatemi (UT) Risk-aware design of value and coordination networks
40. Agus Gunawan (UvT) Information Access for SMEs in Indonesia
41. Sebastian Kelle (OU) Game Design Patterns for Learning
42. Dominique Verpoorten (OU) Reflection Amplifiers in self-regulated Learning
43. Withdrawn
44. Anna Tordai (VU) On Combining Alignment Techniques
45. Benedikt Kratz (UvT) A Model and Language for Business-aware Transactions
46. Simon Carter (UVA) Exploration and Exploitation of Multilingual Data for Statistical
Machine Translation
47. Manos Tsagkias (UVA) Mining Social Media: Tracking Content and Predicting Behavior
48. Jorn Bakker (TUE) Handling Abrupt Changes in Evolving Time-series Data
353
49. Michael Kaisers (UM) Learning against Learning - Evolutionary dynamics of
reinforcement learning algorithms in strategic interactions
50. Steven van Kervel (TUD) Ontologogy driven Enterprise Information Systems
Engineering
51. Jeroen de Jong (TUD) Heuristics in Dynamic Scheduling; a practical framework with a
case study in elevator dispatching
2013
1. Viorel Milea (EUR) News Analytics for Financial Decision Support
2. Erietta Liarou (CWI) MonetDB/DataCell: Leveraging the Column-store Database
Technology for Efficient and Scalable Stream Processing
3. Szymon Klarman (VU) Reasoning with Contexts in Description Logics
4. Chetan Yadati (TUD) Coordinating autonomous planning and scheduling
5. Dulce Pumareja (UT) Groupware Requirements Evolutions Patterns
6. Romulo Goncalves (CWI) The Data Cyclotron: Juggling Data and Queries for a Data
Warehouse Audience
7. Giel van Lankveld (UT) Quantifying Individual Player Differences
8. Robbert-Jan Merk (VU) Making enemies: cognitive modeling for opponent agents in
fighter pilot simulators
9. Fabio Gori (RUN) Metagenomic Data Analysis: Computational Methods and
Applications
10. Jeewanie Jayasinghe Arachchige (UvT) A Unified Modeling Framework for Service
Design
11. Evangelos Pournaras (TUD) Multi-level Reconfigurable Self-organization in Overlay
Services
12. Marian Razavian (VU) Knowledge-driven Migration to Services
13. Mohammad Safiri(UT) Service Tailoring: User-centric creation of integrated IT-based
homecare services to support independent living of elderly
14. Jafar Tanha (UVA) Ensemble Approaches to Semi-Supervised Learning Learning
15. Daniel Hennes (UM) Multiagent Learning - Dynamic Games and Applications
16. Eric Kok (UU) Exploring the practical benefits of argumentation in multi-agent
deliberation
17. Koen Kok (VU) The PowerMatcher: Smart Coordination for the Smart Electricity Grid
18. Jeroen Janssens (UvT) Outlier Selection and One-Class Classification
19. Renze Steenhuizen (TUD) Coordinated Multi-Agent Planning and Scheduling
20. Katja Hofmann (UvA) Fast and Reliable Online Learning to Rank for Information
Retrieval
21. Sander Wubben (UvT) Text-to-text generation by monolingual machine translation
22. Tom Claassen (RUN) Causal Discovery and Logic
23. Patricio de Alencar Silva (UvT) Value Activity Monitoring
24. Haitham Bou Ammar (UM) Automated Transfer in Reinforcement Learning
25. Agnieszka Anna Latoszek-Berendsen (UM) Intention-based Decision Support. A new
way of representing and implementing clinical guidelines in a Decision Support System
26. Alireza Zarghami (UT) Architectural Support for Dynamic Homecare Service
Provisioning
27. Mohammad Huq (UT) Inference-based Framework Managing Data Provenance
28. Frans van der Sluis (UT) When Complexity becomes Interesting: An Inquiry into the
Information eXperience
354
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Iwan de Kok (UT) Listening Heads
Joyce Nakatumba (TUE) Resource-Aware Business Process Management: Analysis
and Support
Dinh Khoa Nguyen (UvT) Blueprint Model and Language for Engineering Cloud
Applications
Kamakshi Rajagopal (OUN) Networking For Learning; The role of Networking in a
Lifelong Learner's Professional Development
Qi Gao (TUD) User Modeling and Personalization in the Microblogging Sphere
Kien Tjin-Kam-Jet (UT) Distributed Deep Web Search
Abdallah El Ali (UvA) Minimal Mobile Human Computer
Than Lam Hoang (TUe) Pattern Mining in Data Streams
Dirk Börner (OUN) Ambient Learning Displays
Eelco den Heijer (VU) Autonomous Evolutionary Art
Joop de Jong (TUD) A Method for Enterprise Ontology based Design of Enterprise
Information Systems
Pim Nijssen (UM) Monte-Carlo Tree Search for Multi-Player Games
Jochem Liem (UVA) Supporting the Conceptual Modelling of Dynamic Systems: A
Knowledge Engineering Perspective on Qualitative Reasoning
Léon Planken (TUD) Algorithms for Simple Temporal Reasoning
Marc Bron (UVA) Exploration and Contextualization through Interaction and Concepts
2014
1. Nicola Barile (UU) Studies in Learning Monotone Models from Data
2. Fiona Tuliyano (RUN) Combining System Dynamics with a Domain Modeling Method
3. Sergio Raul Duarte Torres (UT) Information Retrieval for Children: Search Behavior
and Solutions
4. Hanna Jochmann-Mannak (UT) Websites for children: search strategies and interface
design - Three studies on children's search performance and evaluation
5. Jurriaan van Reijsen (UU) Knowledge Perspectives on Advancing Dynamic Capability
6. Damian Tamburri (VU) Supporting Networked Software Development
7. Arya Adriansyah (TUE) Aligning Observed and Modeled Behavior
8. Samur Araujo (TUD) Data Integration over Distributed and Heterogeneous Data
Endpoints
9. Philip Jackson (UvT) Toward Human-Level Artificial Intelligence: Representation and
Computation of Meaning in Natural Language
10. Ivan Salvador Razo Zapata (VU) Service Value Networks
11. Janneke van der Zwaan (TUD) An Empathic Virtual Buddy for Social Support
12. Willem van Willigen (VU) Look Ma, No Hands: Aspects of Autonomous Vehicle Control
13. Arlette van Wissen (VU) Agent-Based Support for Behavior Change: Models and
Applications in Health and Safety Domains
14. Yangyang Shi (TUD) Language Models With Meta-information
15. Natalya Mogles (VU) Agent-Based Analysis and Support of Human Functioning in
Complex Socio-Technical Systems: Applications in Safety and Healthcare
16. Krystyna Milian (VU) Supporting Trial Recruitment and Design by Automatically
Interpreting Eligibility Criteria
17. Kathrin Dentler (VU) Computing Healthcare Quality Indicators Automatically:
Secondary Use of Patient Data and Semantic Interoperability
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Mattijs Ghijsen (VU) Methods and Models for the Design and Study of Dynamic Agent
Organizations
Vincius Ramos (TUE) Adaptive Hypermedia Courses: Qualitative and Quantitative
Evaluation and Tool Support
Mena Habib (UT) Named Entity Extraction and Disambiguation for Informal Text: The
Missing Link
Kassidy Clark (TUD) Negotiation and Monitoring in Open Environments
Marieke Peeters (UT) Personalized Educational Games - Developing Agent-Supported
Scenario-based Training
Eleftherios Sidirourgos (UvA/CWI) Space Efficient Indexes for the Big Data Era
Davide Ceolin (VU) Trusting Semi-structured Web Data
Martijn Lappenschaar (RUN) New Network Models for the Analysis of Disease
Interaction
Tim Baarslag (TUD) What to Bid and When to Stop
Rui Jorge Almeida (EUR) Conditional Density Models Integrating Fuzzy and
Probabilistic Representations of Uncertainty
Anna Chmielowiec (VU) Decentralized k-Clique Matching
Jaap Kabbedijk (UU) Variability in Multi-Tenant Enterprise Software
Peter de Kock (UvT) Anticipating Criminal Behaviour
Leo van Moergestel (UU) Agent Technology in Agile Multiparallel Manufacturing and
Product Support
Naser Ayat (UVA) On Entity Resolution in Probabilistic Data
Tesfa Tegegne Asfaw (RUN) Service Discovery in eHealth
Christina Manteli (VU) The Effect of Governance in Global Software Development:
Analyzing Transactive Memory Systems
Joost van Oijen (UU) Cognitive Agents in Virtual Worlds: A Middleware Design
Approach
Joos Buijs (TUE) Flexible Evolutionary Algorithms for Mining Structured Process
Models
Maral Dadvar (UT) Experts and Machines United Against Cyberbullying
Danny Plass-Oude Bos (UT) Making Brain-computer Interfaces Better: Improving
Usability Through Post-processing
Jasmina Marić (UvT) Web Communities, Immigration, and Social Capital
356
TiCC Ph.D. Series
1. Pashiera Barkhuysen. Audiovisual Prosody in Interaction.
Promotores: M.G.J. Swerts, E.J. Krahmer. Tilburg, 3 October 2008.
2. Ben Torben-Nielsen. Dendritic Morphology: Function Shapes
Structure. Promotores: H.J. van den Herik, E.O. Postma. Copromotor: K.P. Tuyls. Tilburg, 3 December 2008.
3. Hans Stol. A Framework for Evidence-based Policy Making Using IT.
Promotor: H.J. van den Herik. Tilburg, 21 January 2009.
4. Jeroen Geertzen. Dialogue Act Recognition and Prediction. Promotor:
H. Bunt. Co-promotor: J.M.B. Terken. Tilburg, 11 February 2009.
5. Sander Canisius. Structured Prediction for Natural Language
Processing. Promotores: A.P.J. van den Bosch, W. Daelemans.
Tilburg, 13 February 2009.
6. Fritz Reul. New Architectures in Computer Chess. Promotor: H.J. van
den Herik. Co-promotor: J.W.H.M. Uiterwijk. Tilburg, 17 June 2009.
7. Laurens van der Maaten. Feature Extraction from Visual Data.
Promotores: E.O. Postma, H.J. van den Herik. Co-promotor: A.G.
Lange. Tilburg, 23 June 2009 (cum laude).
8. Stephan Raaijmakers. Multinomial Language Learning. Promotores:
W. Daelemans, A.P.J. van den Bosch. Tilburg, 1 December 2009.
9. Igor Berezhnoy. Digital Analysis of Paintings. Promotores: E.O.
Postma, H.J. van den Herik. Tilburg, 7 December 2009.
10. Toine Bogers. Recommender Systems for Social Bookmarking.
Promotor: A.P.J. van den Bosch. Tilburg, 8 December 2009.
11. Sander Bakkes. Rapid Adaptation of Video Game AI. Promotor: H.J.
van den Herik. Co-promotor: P. Spronck. Tilburg, 3 March 2010.
357
12. Maria Mos. Complex Lexical Items. Promotor: A.P.J. van den Bosch.
Co-promotores: A. Vermeer, A. Backus. Tilburg, 12 May 2010 (in
collaboration with the Department of Language and Culture Studies).
13. Marieke van Erp. Accessing Natural History. Discoveries in data
cleaning, structuring, and retrieval. Promotor: A.P.J. van den Bosch.
Co-promotor: P.K. Lendvai. Tilburg, 30 June 2010.
14. Edwin Commandeur. Implicit Causality and Implicit Consequentiality
in Language Comprehension. Promotores: L.G.M. Noordman, W.
Vonk. Co-promotor: R. Cozijn. Tilburg, 30 June 2010.
15. Bart Bogaert. Cloud Content Contention. Promotores: H.J. van den
Herik, E.O. Postma. Tilburg, 30 March 2011.
16. Xiaoyu Mao. Airport under Control. Promotores: H.J. van den Herik,
E.O. Postma. Co-promotores: N. Roos, A. Salden. Tilburg, 25 May
2011.
17. Olga Petukhova. Multidimensional Dialogue Modelling. Promotor: H.
Bunt. Tilburg, 1 September 2011.
18. Lisette Mol. Language in the Hands. Promotores: E.J. Krahmer, A.A.
Maes, M.G.J. Swerts. Tilburg, 7 November 2011 (cum laude).
19. Herman Stehouwer. Statistical Language Models for Alternative
Sequence Selection. Promotores: A.P.J. van den Bosch, H.J. van
den Herik. Co-promotor: M.M. van Zaanen. Tilburg, 7 December
2011.
20. Terry Kakeeto-Aelen. Relationship Marketing for SMEs in Uganda.
Promotores: J. Chr. van Dalen, H.J. van den Herik. Co-promotor: B.A.
Van de Walle. Tilburg, 1 February 2012.
21. Suleman Shahid. Fun & Face: Exploring non-verbal expressions of
emotion during playful interactions. Promotores: E.J. Krahmer, M.G.J.
Swerts. Tilburg, 25 May 2012.
22. Thijs Vis. Intelligence, Politie en Veiligheidsdienst: Verenigbare
Grootheden? Promotores: T.A. de Roos, H.J. van den Herik, A.C.M.
358
Spapens. Tilburg, 6 June 2012 (in collaboration with the Tilburg
School of Law).
23. Nancy Pascall. Engendering Technology Empowering Women.
Promotores: H.J. van den Herik, M. Diocaretz. Tilburg, 19 November
2012.
24. Agus Gunawan. Information Access for SMEs in Indonesia.
Promotor: H.J. van den Herik. Co-promotores: M. Wahdan, B.A. Van
de Walle. Tilburg, 19 December 2012.
25. Giel van Lankveld. Quantifying Individual Player Differences.
Promotores: H.J. van den Herik, A.R. Arntz. Co-promotor: P.
Spronck. Tilburg, 27 February 2013.
26. Sander Wubben. Text-to-text Generation Using Monolingual Machine
Translation. Promotores: E.J. Krahmer, A.P.J. van den Bosch, H.
Bunt. Tilburg, 5 June 2013.
27. Jeroen Janssens. Outlier Selection and One-Class Classification.
Promotores: E.O. Postma, H.J. van den Herik. Tilburg, 11 June 2013.
28. Martijn Balsters. Expression and Perception of Emotions: The Case
of Depression, Sadness and Fear. Promotores: E.J. Krahmer, M.G.J.
Swerts, A.J.J.M. Vingerhoets. Tilburg, 25 June 2013.
29. Lisanne van Weelden. Metaphor in Good Shape. Promotor: A.A.
Maes. Co-promotor: J. Schilperoord. Tilburg, 28 June 2013.
30. Ruud Koolen. "Need I say More? On Overspecification in Definite
Reference." Promotores: E.J. Krahmer, M.G.J. Swerts. Tilburg, 20
September 2013.
31. J. Douglas Mastin. Exploring Infant Engagement. Language
Socialization and Vocabulary. Development: A Study of Rural and
Urban Communities in Mozambique. Promotor: A.A. Maes. Copromotor: P.A. Vogt. Tilburg, 11 October 2013.
359
32. Philip C. Jackson. Jr. Toward Human-Level Artificial Intelligence –
Representation and Computation of Meaning in Natural Language.
Promotores: H.C. Bunt, W.P.M. Daelemans. Tilburg, 22 April 2014.
33. Jorrig Vogels. Referential choices in language production: The Role
of Accessibility. Promotores: A.A. Maes, E.J. Krahmer. Tilburg, 23
April 2014.
34. Peter de Kock. Anticipating Criminal Behaviour. Promotores: H.J. van
den Herik, J.C. Scholtes. Co-promotor: P. Spronck. Tilburg, 10
September 2014.
35. Constantijn Kaland. Prosodic marking of semantic contrasts: do
speakers adapt to addressees? Promotores: M.G.J. Swerts, E.J.
Krahmer. Tilburg, 1 October 2014.
36. Jasmina Marić. Web Communities, Immigration, and Social Capital.
Promotor: H.J. van den Herik. Co-promotores: R. Cozijn, M. Spotti.
Tilburg, 18 November 2014.
360

Tilburg University Web communities, immigration

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